Two-banded Tree Snake

This beautiful snake created havoc in my neighbour's house so i helped them to capture it and placed it in a plastic bottle.  After photographing it through the safety of the plastic bottle, i released it back to some bushes about a hundred meters away.

Hartlaub's Turaco

I managed to get another picture of the Hartlaub's Turaco.  Looks like a better shot than the previous one.

Beautiful Rooster

This rooster likes to proclaim its territory by yelling out from its favourite perch which is the corner of this wall. 

Curcuma roscoeana

This beautiful ginger plant is flowering again.  The flower bracts of this particular plant is not as bright orange as the ones I bought from Thailand but the plant is bigger. 

 

Another plant of Curcuma rosceana is also flowering now and has darker colors.



 

 

Hartlaub's Turaco spotted

This morning, I was finally able to get a couple of pictures of this beautiful bird behind my house.  I spotted it many times but was always too late to bring out the camera.  It would appear in the early morning, upsetting the yellow orioles as well as the koels.  There would be an intense chasing around with loud calls echoing through the tree tops.  This morning I finally had a chance to hear the deep call of the Turaco.  I've previously mistaken it for an alternative repertoire of the koel.

My pictures are far from the clear shots of an expert photographer so please accept my apologies.. I will try again with my simple camera.  I may get lucky one day.

 

I've always thought that it is a big black bird with red wings and a head crest. After consulting with my colleague who is a bird watcher, he positively identified it as a Turaco and the next picture gave more details.  It is in fact greenish on top, and has white bands around the eyes.  My colleague explained to me that the bird appeared black because I was always watching it from below against the light!!

 

Praying Mantis

How often does one get a chance to witness a praying mantis laying its eggs?  This cute little predator was seen laying its eggs on an old flower stalk of my Dendrobium distichum.

A very hot chili

Last year Jason gave me a chili from India.  The friend who gave it to him said it is very hot so I presume it must be one of those chilies related to the "Devil's Chili" (Bhut Jolokia).  After a year in the pot, the seedlings are now quite matured and are flowering and fruiting now.  The very first pod is still green though but already looking like a devil.