Mrs. Gould's sunbird

Mrs. Gould's sunbird, maybe turning back up in Hong Kong in early January...so look out..... A migrant bird - also a sunbird - that you may be lucky enough to see (think Tai Po Kau nature trails, early morning) is Mrs. Gould's sunbird (Aethopyga gouldiae). This is the male, and he is a striking fellow....

From David Diskins' notes "Scarce migrant in variable numbers in late winter & spring, 5 Jan - 6 Apr, coinciding with the flowering of Coral trees Erythrina sp. Increasing".

Canon EOS-1D X Mark II

Canon Ef800mm f/5.6 IS USM lens.

1/200s at F7.1 ISO800

Manfrotto tripod, Wimberley head.

This is a Mrs Gould’s Sunbird (Aethopyga gouldiae) — one of the most brilliantly coloured birds in Asia. In Hong Kong it appears as a rare winter visitor, and I am always on the lookout for their arrival. Some years I see none, but this year I had the chance to see a few males, juveniles and females, around the coral trees in Tai Po Kau. Leaving before dawn means I can set up and be ready in place for their arrival, however, they are shy and I needed my biggest lens to be able to get close enough in the frame. The vivid breeding-plumage male in this photograph is unmistakable: fiery red body, golden-olive wings, metallic blue tail, and a violet crown patch.

The birds come to this particular place to feed on nectar from a coral tree (Erythrina) flower, using its curved, slender bill to probe deep into blossoms. The photo also shows how they cling acrobatically to the tree stem — sunbirds are extremely agile and often feed in inverted or sideways positions

The species name honours Elizabeth Gould, wife of ornithologist John Gould.She illustrated hundreds of the world’s most beautiful bird plates before her early death in 1841.

Like all sunbirds, they have a brush-tipped tongue that laps nectar at extremely high speed — up to 15–20 licks per second. But they also eat small arthropods like spiders and insects, which are essential during chick-rearing.Look at those colours!!

Here he is in flight

Check back on the next post for the female and juvenile pictures...