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Coppersmith Barbet


Coppersmith Barbet
Photo Information
Copyright: Kedar Kulkarni (kedarkulkarni) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 148 W: 0 N: 187] (801)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2009-07
Categories: Birds
Camera: Canon SX10 IS
Photo Version: Original Version, Workshop
Date Submitted: 2009-08-14 3:54
Viewed: 344
Points: 26
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Friends,
With lot of work in office and tensions of H1N1 (Swine Flu) in the Pune city, I was not on TN for whole of this week. But could not resist too long. So uploading one of my favorite birds' snap.

I just wanted to take a better picture of this bird. I know this has some issues with the sharpness. But not yet got the chance to catch it cleanly. Hope to catch it in some time.

This is a lovely bird and makes nest in the trunk of the tree.

Thanks for stopping by. Wishing you a great weekend!

More details from Wikipedia

The Coppersmith Barbet, Crimson-breasted Barbet or Coppersmith (Megalaima haemacephala), is a bird with crimson forehead and throat which is best known for its metronomic call that has been likened to a a coppersmith striking metal with a hammer. It is a resident found in South Asia and parts of Southeast Asia. Like other barbets, they chisel out a hole inside a tree to build their nest. They are mainly fruit eating but will take insects.

Description
This species of barbet is found to overlap in range with larger barbets in most of South Asia. In the Western Ghats, it also overlaps with the Malabar Barbet which has a very similar size and a more rapid call. The red forehead, yellow eye-ring and throat patch with streaked underside and green upperparts, it is fairly distinctive. Juveniles are duller and lack the red patches. The sexes are alike. The Sri Lankan form has more black on the face, more red on the breast and darker streaks on the underside.[2]

Within the Old World Megalaima barbets, they are found to be basal in phylogenetic analyses. Most of the remaining Asian species are more recent in their divergence and speciation.[3]

Habitat and distribution
Throughout their wide range they are found in gardens, groves and sparse woodland.

Behaviour and ecology
Keeps solitary, pairs, or small groups; larger parties occasionally on abundantly fruiting Ficus trees. Fond of sunning themselves in the morning on bare top branches of tall trees, often flitting about to sit next to each other. The flight is straight, with rapid flaps.

They compete with other cavity nesting birds and frugivores. Megalaima asiatica have been noted to evict them from their nest holes, while Red-vented Bulbuls have been seen to indulge in kleptoparasitism, pirating berries that the males bring to the female at the nest.[4]

Vocalization
The call is a loud rather metallic tuk…tuk…tuk (or tunk), reminiscent of a copper sheet being beaten, giving the bird its name. Repeated monotonously for long periods, starting with a subdued tuk and building up to an even volume and tempo, the latter varying from 1.5 to 2 per second.

The beak remains shut during each call - a patch of bare skin on both sides of the throat inflates and collapses with each tuk like a rubber bulb, with much body and tail shaking. Not very vocal in cold weather - a spell of rain or cold immediately silences them, but it is "one of India's most familiar sounds in the hot season

Diet
Prefers Banyan, Peepul, and other wild figs, various drupes and berries, and the occasional insect, caught in aerial sallies.[6][7] Petals of flowers may also be included in their diet.[8] They eat nearly 1.5 to nearly 3 times their body weight in berries each day.[9]

Breeding
They breed through much of the year with local variations. Both sexes excavate the nest on the underside of a narrow horizontal branch. They may also roost inside the nest holes.[2] Three or four eggs are laid and the incubation period is not known. The main nesting season is February to April, prior to the Monsoons but later in southern India and Sri Lanka. Multiple broods may be raised.
Argus, Mrajan, boreocypriensis, goldyrs, amanengone, Noisette, CeltickRanger, maurydv has marked this note useful
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ThreadThread Starter Messages Updated
To amanengone: Superb Workshopkedarkulkarni 1 08-17 01:23
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Critiques [Translate]

  • Great 
  • falke Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 156 W: 17 N: 458] (1682)
  • [2009-08-14 4:06]

What an amazing bird you have been able to capture. I really would like to see it from another angle too. TFS
Regards/Bengt

Slav Kedar,
A Good capture of this very different bird in nice pose.Colors are very nice.Thanks for sharing.
Regards,
Dűrzan

  • Great 
  • Argus Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3816 W: 190 N: 11348] (34987)
  • [2009-08-14 6:43]

Hello Kedar,
A fine capture of a Coppersmith Barbet, a bird that tried to capture but found too difficult. You managed to get a clear shot through the branches with fair sharpness to show its details with good clarity and colours from a fine POV.
Thanks and best regards,
Ivan

Hi kedar, nice shot
i got more than 50 images of this barbet but not as good to post on tn. anyways u have done grt job. grt position of view as well of subject. i think it is out of range of ur focal length but but nice try indeed. bravo . looking forward for nice post i mean clear and sharp.
regards,
M. rajan

  • Great 
  • siggi Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1373 W: 56 N: 4723] (16252)
  • [2009-08-14 10:10]

Hello Kedar,
You managed you to get a good pov, despite branches and shading. Good color contrast and the bird is well seen.
Best regards Siggi

Namaste Kedar,
What a colourful cute bird which i have not seen before. You captured this beuty from nice POV awşth wonderful composition.
TFS and have a nice WE MF!
Cheers,
Bayram

An awesome shot, Kedar!
Its surprising how many common subjects we choose!
Bravo!
Goldy

Hello Kedar.

A new times a lovely photography from a bird on a branch in a tree.

I appreciate greatly the general composition from your picture, with the bird inside the corner of the branches. This gives life and movement to the picture.

The sharpness is not completly good. I'm sure that you could fix that by post-treatment. I have tried to do it, in the workshop. As you will see, there is a little granularity : in fact, you must do the post-treatment starting from your original file.

The colors are very brilliant and vibrant.

By the way, great picture.

See you soon on treknature for other pictures.

All the best.

Philippe.

Hello Kedar
the sharpness is perhaps not the best but the shot is nice, i like the beautiful plumage of the bird, the rich colors of the whole image and the great composition
Have a great sunday
Jacqueline

hello Kedar

beautiful photo of this cute bird, shot with fine POV
and appropriate framing, fine focus on it over the branches
with excellent sharpness and details, beautiful luminosity,
the catch-light render the photo more beautiful, TFS

Asbed

Hello Kedar,
a beautiful picture of the Coppersmith Barbet, good sharpness and very beautiful colours, a pleasant composition with a nice pose of this colourful bird.
TFS
Best regards
Maurizio

  • Great 
  • foozi Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1339 W: 0 N: 2575] (9083)
  • [2009-08-17 3:37]

Hi Kedar,
shooting birds is not always that easy. this one is well framed withing the branches, resulting in good composition.
Very graphical and nice composition. Though it does not give a real sharoness but it does not handicapped the capture.
nice composition and a unique species to me ...beautiful coloured head and long whiskers.

regards,
Foozi

What a lovely register, Kedar.
TFS.
You are a GREAT PHOTOGRAPHER.
Mario from Canada.

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