Batanes Series 4.2

I don't know exactly the name of this particular bird, but there were LOTS of them in Batanes - in the same way that sparrows and pigeons are so common here in Metro Manila. They are usually found near carabaos, supposedly to feed on the latter's ticks. Despite being accustomed to seeing people, they still keep a safe distance away.

For this particular bird, I found it by it's lonesome by the roadside while I was on a bicycle en route to the town of Ivana in southern Batan island. I carefully parked my bicycle by the roadside and tried to get a closer shot. While I was just 10 meters away, it flew away, but only for a short distance. So what I did was that I got my 55-250mm lens, ran on tiptoe while changing lenses to get a much, much closer shot of this bird.

I caught up with it and managed to get closer by 5 meters. It kept on flying away, but it only for short distances, until I caught up with it by a cliffside and I was just 3 meters away. What transpired was one of the best wildlife shots I've ever taken.

I think the shoot was successful because the bird was also curious about me. This was definitely one of the highlights that made my stay in Batanes very memorable.

The last four pictures are of sparrow-sized birds perched on a power line. I spotted them accidentally while inspecting the rocky mountainside after the other bird finally flew away.