Scarlet Rumped Trogon

[Tsechien]

Trogons are South East Asian cousins of the Central American (corrected) Quetzals and are equally sought after by twichers.

Like Quetzals, they are very shy, elusive and confined to deep undisturbed forests and when one decides to sit on a clean perch right in front of you, it offers perhaps one of the richest & most rewarding of all bird photography experiences.

This one is called a Scarlet Rumped Trogon
Location : Lowland dipterocarp forest, Middle Range, Malaysia
http://www.pbase.com/tsechien/image/99636070/original.jpg

D200, AFS 600mm f4, Wimberley II on a G1325.
1/15s f/8.0 at ISO 400 on Aperture Priority.

Hope you guys like this one!

chien

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

Hello Tsechien, this is a beautiful bird, and has very exotic colors. I really like it all, and the head turn is very welcome.
I just want to help you with a little bit of information about Quetzals, they certeinly are endemic of the American Continent, but their range goes from México to Costa Rica, actually Costa Rica is their south limit, what I want to say is that Central America is as far as you can find them.

[Tsechien]

Hello Tsechien, this is a beautiful bird, and has very exotic colors. I really like it all, and the head turn is very welcome.
I just want to help you with a little bit of information about Quetzals, they certeinly are endemic of the American Continent, but their range goes from México to Costa Rica, actually Costa Rica is their south limit, what I want to say is that Central America is as far as you can find them.

Thanks a lot for the clarification, Juan. I stand corrected - Central America it is. I hope to see them one day :)

chien

[Jay Tan]

Very sharp and nicely done at the low shutter, Chien. Is this at Panti forest?

[Doug Brown]

I've never seen this beautiful bird before. Amazing sharpness for 1/15 sec. Thanks for sharing!

[John Chardine]

Amazing colour saturation in this image. Capturing the back of the bird gives you very few options for a good head angle and you almost have it here- better if the head were less tipped forward. Echo Doug's comment on the shutter speed- amazing. FYI, we also have trogons proper in the neotropics. Elegant and Eared Trogons range into the extreme southern US as accidentals.

[Glenn Bartley]

I love trogons. Youve captured this one well. The vibrant colors are amazing!

[Tsechien]

Thanks for the kind feedback and for the additional information. I did not realize that they were that widely distributed. These are the kind of birds I can never get bored of photographing.

Jay - these were a bit farther north at Rengit.

Doug - 1/15sec is probably the absolute slowest I can go while maintaining detail sharpness with full lockdown and remote shutter release (or at least via a burst of shots hoping that the 2nd & 3rd exposures are sharp.)

John - yeah, these fellas have a habit of facing their back towards the camera :). Their frontside is as vibrant as a shot from the rear but lady luck rarely presents both opportunities on the same bird :D.

chien

[Juan Aragonés]

Fantastic image Chien, the sharpness is TERRIFIC for a 1/15s exposure with a non VR long lens like the 600f4 and that thing talks a lot about the photographer´s skill. Very well done. Plese keep them coming