Misteltoe Bird { male }

From a little stroll before the heavens opened up with torrential rain, a tiny male Mistletoe bird from an area near by called the Aldinga Scrub. Didn't expose the reds as well as could do, and cloned out some oof sticks in the background, probably not necessary, but decided to give it a go.....probably looks a bit sterile now with the uniform background ?

Found two of these birds in the area this afternoon, and one has some nasty looking sores around it's beak ?...found some with similar sores a few weeks back from a different area, might have to send some pictures off and see if some expert may be able to identify what is wrong with them. Hoping it's not the dreaded bird pox going through the south regions.

Canon 7D + 4500 f4 + 12.4 x TC....700mm, f6.3, 1/2000, ISO 800, +0.3EV, no flash, hand held at close range, used playback to bring him to a perch of my choosing

Wow Phil, I want that 4500mm f4 lens (jk). Nice pose and HA and I like the vertical comp. Agree with your self-critique on the exp of the reds, some are hot.

TFS,
Rachel

what a brilliant colored bird. Graceful too. Good job getting him to land where you wanted.

Like the vertical crop but Its too close a crop for me. The bird looks a little soft on my monitor.

I really like your specs....;). care to elaborate?

Phil, Glorious image. Beautiful colors,lights and BG...Lovely pose,great details.Seeing for the first time.I like red with orange tinge.Does he have bluish supercilium ?

I love the subtle blue above the eye! Nice flow to the comp from the bottom of the perch up to the tip of the bill. Not crazy about the blunt ending of the perch, and on this monitor (at work, shhhh...) the reds look a bit overdone in some spots. Verical is good call, just a bit tight IMO. "Mistletoe Bird"...there could potentially be more than one reason not to stand directly below it!!:S3:

Very nice shot. Great pose, I really like the comp, and agree on the reds.
Well done.

Beautifully coloured bird well photographed and presented.

Phil, beautiful Bird, Pose and details...shooting angle is little steep but liked the composition. And agree with you about exposure on red. This is new bird for me TFS

Taa for looking....doesn't everyone have a 4500 f4 lens ? { or maybe a 500 f4 lol } ....and yes these birds have a blue sheen to their backs when the light is at the right angle, I have other better shots that show this much more clearly

nice image Phil,like the pose,agree on what you said about the reds.thanks.

Phil,

What a nice looking bird, reds are nearly always difficult for me at least!