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Southern Masked Weaver

A non-breeding male lacks the black face and beak of a male in breeding colors, Windhoek, Namibia.

On my very first morning in Namibia, I woke early to photograph any song birds that happened to visit the garden of the bed and breakfast in which I was staying. I was quickly rewarded with sightings of both male and female southern masked weavers. In general, female birds are usually harder to identify than males, which tend to display more color and distinct markings. This identification was made more difficult by the fact that even the male that I saw was in non-breeding colors, looking much more like the female.

A non-breeding male lacks the black face and beak of a male in breeding colors, Windhoek, Namibia.

The first two photos here are of a male, while the last is a female. Although the male’s colors are similar to the female, it is distinguished by its red eye. In breeding season, the male has a black face and beak (giving the species its name), looking very different.

A female southern masked weaver lacks the black face of the male, Windhoek, Namibia.

These weavers did not hang around for long. I had a total of about 30 seconds with the male (which is why cameras with high frame rates are vital with bird photography!). The female perched for a few brief seconds before she was off to the next spot.

Gear I used to create the photos in this post:
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India 2016 Gallery

India 2016

An indian peacock walks through short grass, Mudumalai National Park, India.

I’ve finished processing my photos from a short trip to India last month. Here is a gallery of some of my favorite shots. It was a whirlwind trip through the southern state of Tamil Nadu, visiting Mudumalai National Park, Ooty, Coimbatore, Azhagappapuram, Nagercoil and Kanyakumari. These photos were shot over the course of four busy days. Click each image to see the next, or use your keyboard arrows to navigate.

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Chital – The Indian Spotted Deer

A chital stands in a clearing in the forest, Mudumalai National Park, India.

On my trip to southern India last month, I saw quite a few chital, the spotted deer that live throughout the country’s forests. Sometimes appearing solitary, sometimes in herds of 10 or more, they were distributed in a variety of environments from the thick forest of Mudumalai National Park to more open scrub land.

Two chital stand in a small clearing, Mudumalai National Park, India.

Males are larger than females and can have antlers. These antlers are three pronged and can grow up to one meter long, giving the larger males a majestic appearance.

An adult chital stands in a patch of cactus, Mudumalai National Park, India.

Like most mammals, the chital are much more active in the early hours of the day. They seemed most relaxed just before sunrise – however that was a much more difficult time to photograph them due to the lack of light. Unfortunately, the closer subjects were extremely skittish, diving into the dense trees as we slowed our vehicle.

A chital stands in a clearing in the forest, Mudumalai National Park, India.
A young chital looks back over its shoulder, Mudumalai National Park, India.

Chital are endemic to the Indian subcontinent and can be found as far north as Nepal and Bhutan. A small herd was introduced to the Hawaiian island of Molokai in the 1860s, and can today be found on the island of Lanai.

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Fun With Rhesus Macaques

A rhesus macaque carries her baby underneath her as she travels from place to place, Mudumalai National Park, India.

In some areas of India, Rhesus macaques are all over the place. In certain temples, palaces or other tourist attractions, these guys are more like city pigeons in their ubiquity. However, as someone not usually around wild monkeys, I take every opportunity to pick up my camera and capture some of the amazingly human-like expressions they display.

On a recent trip to southern India, I encountered some of these guys as I got closer to the forests of the Mudumalai Tiger Preserve. For several mothers and their babies, upside down and clinging on definitely seemed to be the transportation mode of choice.

A rhesus macaque carries her baby underneath her as she travels from place to place, Mudumalai National Park, India.

While monkeys can often be very cute as they go about their primate lives, it is important to keep your distance. They can be quite territorial and aggressive, and I certainly wouldn’t want to get into a fight with one!

A rhesus macaque bares its fangs in a show of dominance, Ooty, Tamil Nadu, India.

As we were leaving the city of Ooty, we spotted the guy in the photo above on the side of the road. He had gotten into a neighborly dispute with the fellow below. They were screaming at each other across the road, so I got up close views of each as they bared their fangs and made their intentions known. Sitting in the car and shooting out the window was about as close as I’d want to get!

A rhesus macaque bares its fangs in a show of dominance, Ooty, Tamil Nadu, India.

Not to give you nightmares of macaques, I’ll leave you with a cute shot of a little guy. He was minding his business atop a fence, watching all the goings-on with interest.

A juvenile rhesus macaque sits on a fence looking cute, Ooty, Tamil Nadu, India.

While my Indian friends often roll their eyes every time I take out a camera for monkeys, I am always fascinated with watching them go about their day. I’m not sure if I dig their dexterous use of tools or if I’m anthropomorphizing their facial expressions, but I’ll take their photo any day.