Oriental Pied Hornbill
The last day in Malaysia back in March. To be honest it was nothing more than a day of travel back to the airport. We had seen a few sightings of this species on our travels but usually in flight and distant so when Paul shouted stop (in the fast lane of a dual carriageway) we knew it must be worth stopping for.
We pulled off the carriageway and turned around back towards the bird where it was showing at the back of a small cafe in a banana plantation.
The last day in Malaysia back in March. To be honest it was nothing more than a day of travel back to the airport. We had seen a few sightings of this species on our travels but usually in flight and distant so when Paul shouted stop (in the fast lane of a dual carriageway) we knew it must be worth stopping for.
We pulled off the carriageway and turned around back towards the bird where it was showing at the back of a small cafe in a banana plantation.
With a little stealth we were able to inch closer (much to the amazement of the people dinning who obviously thought we were a little crazy creeping up on a bird that they had probably spent days and days ignoring)
it turned around and for a moment it looked like it was going to fly off
however it weight us up and decided that he could afford us a little more exposure
full frontal! an unuasual angle
sitting pretty
up close and personal
Field craft? or just a stroke of luck?
I think the latter on this occasion