Asian Fairy Bluebird is a small to medium sized bird with an attractive blue color. The name itself has a uniqueness and charm. It is a forest dwelling bird found in many parts of India and some of the South East Asian countries.
Exif: f/6.3, 1/320sec, ISO 400, 500mm, +0.3 step, matrix metering mode, Nikon D7100, Sigma 150-500mm. Date: January 18, 2016
The above photo was taken from Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary in Kerala. It was the first time I was seeing this bird so close. I could spot these birds at many places inside the sanctuary during the morning trek. I think it is very easy to spot these birds at Chinnar.
But this one (the above photo) was the closest at about 15-20 foot distance. We were about to finish the trekking and was returning to the starting point. And then noticed it perched on a branch at almost eye-level. So I was able to get a few decent shots.
As with any other bird with black color (white also), exposing correctly can be a little tricky. So slightly overexpose using exposure compensation to avoid washing out the black areas. As stated above, I overexposed by +0.3 step. Here it was not much of a problem because the background is also a dim green; not very bright.
More About Asian Fairy Bluebird
It is a bird from the Irena family; the family of fairy bluebirds. Scientific name is Irena puella. It is also probably the only bird from this family found in India.
Size is almost two-thirds of a House Crow. And looks a little smaller then Malabar Trogon, but shape is different.
Head, upper side and tail have blue color. Bottom area, tail towards the end and face are black in color. Wings, beaks and legs are also black. Eyes are red. The female is different with dull blue-green color.
I am adding a page under the Albums section for photos from Chinnar and surroundings, for easy viewing of all photos from the place at once.
