Nest Building....FAIL !!!

Not much on IQ, but maybe of interest from a birders point of view.

Tawny Frogmouth sitting on a typical nest and egg consisting of nothing more than a few twigs, first and only time I have found this species on a nest. Amazing any chick lives out the ordeal of surviving on such a basic at best nest. If one looks closely the egg is visible just in front of the foot. What's even more remarkable is that I spotted this well camouflaged bird and nest at about 100 metres off the side of a remote dirt road while driving by at about 80 kph :eek3:

Cropped to vertical from landscape aspect as the only clear shot I could get between branches left the bird placed awkwardly in the frame, looked better in vertical, but still not an ideal composition.

Canon 7D + 500 f4...f5.6, 1/1600, ISO 400, no flash, hand held....cropped to vertical, selective sharpen, toned down brighter back light

Phil:

A very interesting picture. On first glance I thought you had posted a picture of a beat up stump! Hard to even tell it was a bird (not one I am familiar with)

Excellent story telling image. Well exposed, pretty sharp, the angle of the bird works well with the crop.

Nice job of spotting this one! Glad there wasn't any traffic at the time :bg3:

Cheers

Randy

That is some subject Phil! That is definitely one I never would have spotted. I agree it's hard to believe any hatchling lives through that nest. Agree with Randy's points.

I love the lighting, colour and patterns on this strange bird Phil.

Hi Phil, interesting looking species, and I think only one other image of this species has been posted on the site. Good eyes from you to have spotted this fellow from a distance, and Im sure he's happy with his nest as is - maybe he is still in the process.

I like the exposure on this bird, great you could spot it from so long

We get the cylone frogmouth in here and i somehow never have clicked it, have seen it at very close quarters never to click.

That is an awesome bird!
A stump on a stump.
Thanks for posting this "creature", it looks like a Dr. Seuss cartoon bird.

A beautiful capture of this unusual species! I appreciate the way you left the background light, complimenting the natural camouflage of the bird.

Wow, talk about cryptic. I cant even figure out where the eye is. Very cool capture of a rarely seen bird. What planet were you on when you took this:e3 Great capture!

Nothing wrong with the IQ here, at least as posted. Awesome photo, I love it - mottled light and all! Amazing job spotting this...I guess you know how to spot unusual shapes that may lead to something...

Phil,you have got eagle's eye sight. Great observation.For us it is even difficult to spot this bird 10 ft.away from .
Beautiful image.Love the frame.

Regards,
Satish.

Awesome camo on this bird, lots of detail, remarkable that you were able to see it as you drove by.