A blue day below

Songino Khairkhan Uul

text & photos by Abu

(© A. Buchheim)

On 12 February 2015 I went to check out the area below Songino Khairkhan Uul (near Ulaanbaatar), mainly to see whether we could conduct training in taking bird measurements there. After three hours I went back home with a very disappointing result: almost no birds apart from corvids.

Luckily (for me) c.30 Asian Azure-winged Magpies were a bit more approachable than usual which gave me the rather rare opportunity to take some behaviour photographs. In the sequence below you can see that the single magpie was joined by one, then by two, then even by three and finally by no less than four other individuals. Each bird greeted(?) the others by pointing its slightly fanned tail to the sky and its bill to the ground, but this could also have been another (rather non-aggressive as the bills pointed downwards) function. Then, out of the sudden, they took flight and parted.

Educated comments are, as always, very welcome. Enjoy!

Asian Azure-winged Magpie with a berry

(almost none left on the trees!),

below Songino Khairkhan Uul, UB, Feb 2015

Asian Azure-winged Magpie - still lonesome,

below Songino Khairkhan Uul, UB, Feb 2015

Asian Azure-winged Magpies - the join-up has begun,

below Songino Khairkhan Uul, UB, Feb 2015

Asian Azure-winged Magpies - the next one is joining in,

below Songino Khairkhan Uul, UB, Feb 2015

Asian Azure-winged Magpies

maybe this was too close for the front one so it jumps aside,

below Songino Khairkhan Uul, UB, Feb 2015

Asian Azure-winged Magpies - now already 4,

below Songino Khairkhan Uul, UB, Feb 2015

Asian Azure-winged Magpies - # 5 is approaching,

below Songino Khairkhan Uul, UB, Feb 2015

Asian Azure-winged Magpies -  the sudden departure,

below Songino Khairkhan Uul, UB, Feb 2015

Asian Azure-winged Magpie

below Songino Khairkhan Uul, UB, Feb 2015