Before the rain

You can hear a Yellow-vented Bulbul before you see one. They are the bird of every Thai garden, every car park with a tree in it, every balcony with a pot plant. Brown back, pale front, a smudge of yellow under the tail, and a bright, bubbling call that starts before it is properly light.

This one had gone to the very top of the tree as the storm built. Birds often do that before rain. Whether they are watching the weather or just enjoying the wind, I do not know.

The clouds did most of the work. A grey sky is a soft light, and the green of the leaves is the only saturated colour in the frame.