Indigo Flycatcher Mt. Kinabalu

[Tonji Ramos]

This bird was easy to spot around Mt. Kinabalu park. Its similar to our Mountain Vertider. But looking at it closely the colors are different. The blues on this bird change from early morning, mid-day and late afternoon depending on how the light hits it.

In this picture it was a bit late and it was getting dark, 5:45pm. The bird was hiding inside a tree so light was at a premium. But you can still see the different shades of blue despite the lateness of the hour. Its mostly dark blue with light blue on the forehead.

I saw this bird all over the park. I was birding at around 1600 meters so I guess thats around the middle of the mountain. I saw it eating insects, it especially liked eating bugs on the street lamps just before the sun went up.


Indigo Flycatcher
Eumyias indigo, 14cm
Mt. Kinabalu, Kota Kinabalu, Borneo



Canon 5Dmk2, Canon 1.4x tc, Canon 500mm f4, 1/100, f5.6, ISO 1600, Feisol tripod, Manfrotto Gimbal


This next picture of the same species was taken before sunrise. The sun takes some time to peak out in Mt. Kinabalu park because it has to climb over the mountain also. This was at 5:58am, sun is not yet up and I just started walking out the door and I saw this bird just in front of our cottage. I don't usually shoot at 4000 iso but the bird was just there...



Canon 5Dmk2, Canon 1.4x tc, Canon 500mm f4, 1/25, f5.6, ISO 4000, Feisol tripod, Manfrotto Gimbal

[Ely Teehankee]

It must be cold there at that altitude and fun to be birding in that kind of weather. Its a good looking bird with your capture. Well done Tonji. Mabuhay.

[Edu Lorenzo Jr]

great pics complimenting the great description of behavior.. thank you for sharing sir! High altitude birds are always a delight.

[Ariel Matias]

Incredible details!

[alainpascua]

Whoa! Excellent pictures, Tonji! The poise and BG are superb! I like the first one, though.

[Tonji Ramos]

Ely, yes it was nice and cool. You need a jacket for the morning and at night.

Thanks Edu. I am trying to learn as much as I can about each bird. Just sharing the odd bits. I agree mountain birds are super interesting.

Thanks Ariel. I was quite close to the bird in the first pic.

Thanks Alain. I also like the first one more. The second one was more of an experiment of low light shooting, I never shot at ISO 4000. Plus it was just sitting there!