Even the birds felt the heat.

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This shot below looks like it was singing, but no it wasn't singing.
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A hot day, with only a soft warm breeze, that spread the heat around.

There is a saying, so hot that the crows yawn, and this was such a day, as you can see in the photo above, the sugarbird had its beak open to regulate their body heat. I followed it around trying my best to stay in the shade, but I wasn't very successful and picked up a heat rash as an early Christmas gift from the blazing sun. But it was not a worry, as I know how to take care of the heat rashes.

The Cape Sugarbirds (Promerops cafer) appeared here in the Malachite Sunbird's territory, but their timing was so special, as the Malachite breeding season was done and the sugarbirds knew that they were no longer around. So, I know that these young sugarbirds will hang around until they become adults with much longer tails than what you see in the shots here.

Have a look at the youngster below.
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It really was hot at a temp of 34C.
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An auto sprinkler started up unexpectedly.
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And I think this guy spotted it.
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He sat peeping around for danger, and then he flew off towards the sprinkler.
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And the sugarbird in the first picture just continued to hang his beak open.
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I wonder what would happen, or what it would look like, if we as human beings also walked around with our mouths hanging open? Just imagine a fly or some other insect slipping down your throat:) I tried it as an experiment, and my wife started giving me strange looks. Let me tell you that it is not a nice experience, so I would rather keep my mouth shut and suffer the heat. Oh, and my experiment didn't help in any case:)

We also know that the young females will start to arrive soon, and not long then it will be baby time again. The problem that I have, is that I just cannot find a sugarbirds nest. Believe me, I have looked, but with no luck. Either they don't build their nests in this area, or they hide them exceptionally well. But I will keep on trying, as I would love to get the little babies on camera.
Such is life.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures and the story.

Photos by Zac Smith. All-Rights-Reserved.

Camera: Canon PowershotSX70HS Bridge camera.

Thank you kindly for supporting this post.

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13 comments
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I didn't know this bird. What great photos you've shared! Thanks for showing them to us!

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Glad that I could introduce the bird to you, and I will show you the very long tail af an adult bird in a post sometime.
Glad that you liked the photos.

!PIZZA

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Amazing that you captured the bird panting. I've only seen that once and it just happened to be this last summer when we had steady temps over 100°F. I bet your wife looked at you funny, I would too, lol.

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Thank you milady, and yes It can get a bit tricky to get the birds panting. Glad that you have also seen it last summer, as now you know exactly what I am talking about. Lol, my wife thinks that I am a whacky guy :)

!PIZZA and !LUV

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Hahaha, my husband used to think I was whacky too, but I grew on him. lol

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Thank you kindly!

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Glad to hear that you're having a great time buzzing around on Hive @papilloncharity!
Wishing you another productive and rewarding week. Keep up the fantastic work

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