One of the reasons that I love to take animal portraits is the ability to hone in on their individual personalities – yes animals do express emotion.  For example – it is clear that the bulbul above is as curious as to what the heck this human was doing as I was with getting this pose. So let’s get right down to it and see if you can discern what these birds are thinking.

Bulbul – Found plentifully in India – and despite how some of my fellow travelers felt, their song, along with other songbirds made sunrises particularly beautiful.

Mynah – another of the Indian songbirds (and powerful mimic) and is  related to our American starlings.  The word ‘mynah’ or ‘myna’ derives from the Hindi word mainā, a term of endearment used for pets, children and favoured females. Mainā itself derives from the Sanskrit madana, meaning joyful or delightful. It is also said to mean ‘messenger of God’ in Sanskriti.  It is fortuitous to see two mynahs together

 

Jungle Babblers – How can you resist birds with a name like this – they congregate in groups, are very gregarious and appear to be particularly Badass:

 

Rufous Treepie – This bird needs a different name – like Tiger bird as it has the same coloring as that magnificent feline. Surprisingly to me, it is a member of the crow family – its more flamboyant cousin, I suppose.

Last photo courtesy of Wes – thanks!

Indian White Eye – these birds may be diminutive but I think also quite shrewd  – they  seem to congregate around other larger birds – perhaps to use them as bodyguards?

 

Bee Eater –   If I hadn’t just glanced up I would have missed this spectacular little bird.  I think Miyagi used the bee eater as an example of how to catch that fly with chopsticks – they are lightning fast.

 

Sparrow – This common bird deserves the closing of this post as he was so completely into his bath that I was able to get up close:

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