Male Purple Sunbird

I was up just after dawn this morning, hoping to get some close up photographs of Kingfishers.  I have spent several sessions staking  out a likely perching area  but only once have I been lucky this trip.  So after a couple of hours without any visits this morning   I gave up and then went to an area very nearby which I have learned is good for Sunbirds. I stood alongside some lantana bushes that were absolutely covered with large exotic butterflies of several species, but mostly swallowtails.  An amazing exotic sight.    These flowers were a great source of nectar judging by the butterflies' interest.  I was absolutely thrilled that I had made a good decision to wait near these bushes because after a short while a sunbird flew in to the bush.  I took great photos of firstly a young male Loten's Sunbird and then after a minute or two, a male Purple Sunbird flew in.  It chased off the Lotens  and then  I took my best ever pictures of this species as well.  It has been a good trip for sunbirds.  As well as these  I also photographed a Plain Flowerpecker again, this birds interest was  the tiny  berries of the lantana flowers.  As I hadn't even seen this species on my previous trips  it was great to get some good photos of this bird as well.

As if this wasn't enough, as I sat having breakfast/brunch, Tharika noticed a large  brown bird on the garden fence just a few feet away, using a palm tree as cover, I crept closer and then took frame filling photos of probably the same bird that had been in the garden the other day, a female Shikra, a type of Sparrowhawk.