Saturday, April 20, 2013

Reach out for Food

Last weekend my sister kept on reminding my nephew that there are nestlings at the side street. That  is a euphemism that we should go there at once to take the photos. This is my sister whose house is maybe 20 meters away from ours, she has also 6 dogs and our cats always bring their kittens to her as soon as the kittens start to walk. That is because she gives a lot of food to pets. Sometimes she brings me some larvae, katydids, butterflies, millipedes or whatever critter she comes across with.

This time she is frantic that we immediately go and see the nestlings. The moment i touched the plant with the nest, the occupants suddenly extended their necks simultaneous with very wide open mouths. I at once saw two 'birdlets', we fondly call them that. They thought their mother arrived with food for them. I guess nature made their mouths very wide because the parent birds cannot easily drop the worm inside the mouth.

I shoot in succession. After a few seconds without food coming, they closed their mouths. And I wiggled the plant again so they repeat their stance, even extending the neck fully to ensure they get the food.

I am so sorry, i don't have any worm for you. Look at the skin on the neck, stretched fully well to reach for the food. I wonder where the parents are because they are very noisy when possible risks are near the nests.

I suspect, those eyes don't see yet. I wonder how old they are when they can easily see.

 The ears are also very wide and conspicuous when feathers are not yet growing. They also shake their heads while opening their mouths. That's the reason why some heads are blurred in the photo.

 After a few more shakes, there are already three of them with stretched heads and opened mouths.

 Look at those fully opened mouths, visible tongues and very stretched necks. They are competing with their parents' delivered food. I am so sorry for being a disappointment, i am just a distraction. And thank you very much for my photos.

These are yellow-vented bulbuls (Pycnonotus goiavier), reproducing only once a year during the dry season. Two to three nestlings are produced per year from one pair. Their nests are cup-shaped and well camouflaged just on some thickets about a few feet above the ground. This bird is already a resident in out property. They eat fruits, shoots, some insects and also sip nectar.

Camera Critters Meme

Camera Critters


16 comments:

  1. Fabulous photos. The babies are just adorable.

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  2. awww!!

    how adorable!
    love these shots.

    have a good weekend~

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  3. oh, those little ones! hope they all make it to adulthood!

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  4. Oh wow, sweet babies! Lovely sighting and photos.

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  5. Great pictures, makes me want to rush out there with a bunch of worms.

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  6. Marvelous!!! Absolutely marvelous.

    Would you mind adding your link to this wonderful post on my Birding Blog Photo meme? I just KNOW it'd be a great addition to the linking that goes on over the weekend!!!! The link is found on my personal blog's right sidebar "I'd Rather B Birdin'"

    You definitely made my day with these photo shares.

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    1. Thanks Anni for the invitation to link with the birders. I just did, i hope they will love them too.

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  7. So cute...I hope to see baby birds here this year

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  8. Amazing shots! They look so hungry.

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  9. Fabulous series of shots! They're adorable!

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  10. I'm sure glad that you decided to link up over at the Bird D'Pot [I'd Rather B Birdin']. Such a great addition to view these darling ones.

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  11. beautiful shots. But I hope their mother soon arrived with real food. :)

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  12. Awwww how cute! And they are soo hungry! Lucky you to get this great great shots.

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