Coppersmith Barbet with bigger food perched alongside Parakeet

21 March 2021

In span of 2-3 days I spotted 4-5 new birds at AmruthaHalli Lake at Bangalore. The city is not behind in avian population :-). Especially I spotted more aquatic birds than before. Probably, these aquatic birds are also fond of city lifestyle. In my village, I saw only jungle aquatic birds which are relatively shy and timid. I am happy that even city hosts splendid array of avian population to rejoice.

Today during my evening walk with kids along the lake, I was enthusiastically clicking the parakeets perched on bland tree. After a while, a coppersmith barbet with bigger fruit on its mouth perched on same tree :-). What a surprise! The elusive bird at my village with long kuk-kuk-kuk call appeared by chance at city. Probably, city birds are habituated to humans and don't fear human movements. The species of bird in my village fly away just with a pinch of human movement. This bird was trying to gulp fruit larger than it mouth with lot of struggle. It seems, its usual sight to see coppersmith barbet overcrowd their  mouth with figs and are also capable of over-eating. The same I observed today live and was happy to witness it. A slight mistake would make the fruit fall. You know! These guys are expert but the bird looked to be juvenile and may lack experience in handling certain situations :-). Eventually, the bird happily ate without dropping fruit and hid under canopy of nearby tree. The barbet's green plumage makes it difficult to spot camouflaged in canopy! Here are pictures for you :-).

Man! This is difficult to balance

Hope this catch doesn't slip from my mouth. It is difficult to find food in city and this one is feast  for me

Ah! Yes seems to be under control. Hey parakeet buddy, kindly do not shake or move. I may loose balance and the fruit may slip. It will be difficult to pick if it falls on human trail

Parakeet buddy! Hope you are not eyeing my meal

Meanwhile, that is not a clear picture and hence did not come up with "Bird Series" post. Just an introductory post to flaunt my spotting :-D. It also provided hint that the bird is found in proximity, even may be nesting. Hope to see it closer in coming days. The parakeet was basking under the Sun and was nowhere interested in barbet's food action.

Check out my Bird Series blogs here : NKBirdSeries