The Very Beautiful yet Vulnerable - The Nilgiri Flycatcher (Male)

• Try Viewing it in Full Screen
  @ Coonoor, Nilgiris Dist
  Tamil Nadu, India
  08 Mar 2022

Description Credit – Birds of the World (The Cornnel Lab) & Wiki

About the Bird - The Nilgiri Flycatcher a Vulnerable Species, is small and somewhat long-tailed flycatcher that is about 10 to 13 centimetres and is found mainly in the higher altitude Shola forests of the Western Ghats and the Nilgiris.

The Male is almost entirely deep indigo-blue, except for some violet-blue on the forehead and area over eye and darker lores. The female is duller with dark brown on the upperparts and dark grey below. The two central tail feathers are blue and the lateral feathers are dark brown and edged with indigo. The base of the outer tail feathers are white but this is not easily visible when the bird is sitting. The wing feathers are dark brown with a narrow outer fringe of blue.

With a very restricted range in the hills of Southern India, it is found mainly in the higher altitude Shola Forests of the Western Ghats and the Nilgiris which provide ideal oscillating climate and unique floral structure in the montane ecosystems provide special microclimatic conditions and habitat for the species, and such montane ecosystems are known as ‘sky islands’.
Climate change induced by human activities, restricted range and increased environmental degradation has put this beautiful bird at rink and is making it more and more vulnerable.

In Frame after a Looong Time - The Nilgiri Flycatcher (Juvenile)
A very colourful Juvenile of Vulnerable Species

• Try Viewing it in Full Screen
  Helped and Guided by - Yeswanth Kumar
  at Jungle View Homestay
  @ Coonoor, Nilgiris Dist
  Tamil Nadu, India
  11 June 2022

Sony a7riv with Sony 600mm f4 Lens

About the Photo – It took me 4 days of two weekends to get this very pretty and colourful Nilgiri Flycatcher juvenile in a desirable frame. Managed quite a few good shots earlier, but was looking for the perfect one. A Juvenile of a Bird is generally a baby bird which differs in coloration as compared to an adult, as they are not completely developed as yet, this in some cases helps in camouflaging them from predators. So once a chick grows, his feather colours will become the same as adults. So the catch is.... it’s colouration and plumage is seen for only 2 to 3 weeks of its lifespan or 2 to 3 weeks in a year, hence the difficulty, which increases if it’s a vulnerable species. I had almost reconciled, when I got him on an open perch. Now trying for the Tickel’s Blue Flycatcher juvenile, which is even more colourful and beautiful.

A Juvenile of a Bird is generally a baby bird which differs in coloration as compared to an adult, as they are not completely developed as yet, this in some cases helps in camouflaging them from predators. So once a chick grows, his feather colours will become the same as adults. So the catch as per my father is....that it’s colouration and plumage is seen for only 2 to 3 weeks of its lifespan or 2 to 3 weeks in a year, hence the difficulty, which increases if it’s a vulnerable species. He had almost reconciled, when he got him on an open perch.

About the Bird - The Nilgiri Flycatcher is small and somewhat long-tailed flycatcher that is about 10 to 13 centimetres and is found mainly in the higher altitude Shola forests of the Western Ghats and the Nilgiris. The Male is is almost entirely deep indigo-blue, except for some violet-blue on the forehead and area over eye and darker lores. The female is duller with dark brown on the upperparts and dark grey below. The two central tail feathers are blue and the lateral feathers are dark brown and edged with indigo. The base of the outer tail feathers are white but this is not easily visible when the bird is sitting. The wing feathers are dark brown with a narrow outer fringe of blue.

With a very restricted range in the hills of Southern India, it is found mainly in the higher altitude Shola Forests of the Western Ghats and the Nilgiris which provide ideal oscillating climate and unique floral structure in the montane ecosystems provide special microclimatic conditions and habitat for the species, and such montane ecosystems are known as ‘sky islands’.

Climate change induced by human activities, restricted range and increased environmental degradation has put this beautiful bird at rink and is making it more and more vulnerable.

sonya7riv

sonya7r4

sonyalpha

sony600mm