Munias' outing

 Happy hours for a Scaly-breasted Munia and its sub-adults.

Munia mania

It's the season again although I normally would not venture too far down to the river to shoot the Scaly-breasted Munias because they are simply easy to get without having to do so.  But this time was different as it's also time to stalk the river for the elusive kingfisher, and I had to be satisfied with only the Munias while waiting.

A perfect camouflage for these sensitive birds.

Meanwhile the naive juvenile sitting across the river to the adults didn't show any sign of sensitivity, yet, as they laze openly.

From juvy to adult Munias

Having seen so many Scaly-breasted Munias, I thought it would be good to try and differentiate between the young and the adult.
These are juveniles, going by their lighter colour.

Then we have the immatures and sub-adults slowly moulting into adults, showing glimpses of scaly feathers.

The following sub-adults have grown further into adulthood.

And finally the adults although it's not easy to separate the male from the female.  And this particular one shows sign of age (like man indeed) as it practically snoozes off following its meal!

A younger and older adult going by the tail feathers.

Feasting Munias

The atmosphere was almost festive as these Scaly-breasted Munias descended and feasted on the wild grass, filling the air with their chirping and flapping.  They were everywhere, swinging on the grasses and even feasting on the ground, going for dropped seeds.
     They were certainly a merry flock of young and adult birds.

Sub-adult Munia

Always good to get any bird at different stages of their development, and this is a sub-adult Scaly-breasted Munia, still with moulting feathers.

Can't get enough of the bird - one knows that it will soon turn full grown and gorgeous.

Soon it will become an adult like the following.