Reed Parrotbill, Jiangsu, China

Reed parrotbills are endemic to China. Their habitat, coastal reed beds, is being steadily destroyed, making these specialists qualify for "near-threatened" status. Where habitat is still suitable, however, reed parrotbills are often the most common species. They have little fear of man, but the reeds are thick; one can be just a few meters away from the bird but unable to get a shot. If you wait long enough, though, the parrotbills will pop their heads out of the messy vegetation. This parrotbill was nice enough to emerge at a spot with a clean background. The bird was so close he was overspilling the frame, so I focused on the head. One way in which the shot adds value is by showing us the large bill of the bird, used to pry open reeds to reach the larvae inside. A bit of the reed on which my parrotbill was perching was jutting into the frame. I cloned it out. I wanted bird and background and nothing more.

Device: Nikon D300
Lens: VR 600mm F/4G
Focal length: 600mm
VR: ON
Aperture: F/7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/400s
Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority
Exposure Comp.: 0EV
Metering: Center-Weighted
ISO Sensitivity: ISO 400

Thanks for the description of the species and behavior Craig - I frequently see fantastic images of species that I am completely unfamiliar with posted on BPN and I really like getting some context.

I really like this portrait - the "introspective" look on the birds face gives it some character. My eye is immediately drawn to the bill - if you are so inclined, I think a bit of localized sharpening around the eye would shift the focus.

Craig:
I also appreciate the background info.
The shape of the bill gives him a very serious look, perhaps introspective as Jeff mentioned. I could visualize him with a tiny pair of spectacles!

Nice exposure, feather detail and BG.

Cheers

Randy

Thanks Randy, Peter, and Jeff. As Jeff and Randy have hinted, the reed parrotbill is a charismatic bird. Because it's a threatened bird with character, the reed parrotbill could easily serve as the "poster child" for the "save our birds" movement in China, if such a movement existed.

Here's a repost incorporating the ideas of Jeff (localized sharpening) and Peter (darkened mid-tones). How are we doing?

Like the head angle. Does give the bird a little personality!

Craig, thanks for the info. Interesting looking beak, and I like the pose. Your repost looks great. Well done.

What a beak on this bird! I like the information on this bird as well. The repost looks great. Nice job on isolating the bird and getting the clean BG.

Craig thanks for sharing the info on this species. I have not seen this bird before and this is one of the great things about BPN seeing and learning about species world wide from great photographers.

I like the sharpened repost , very expressive, sharp and good detail.

I hear you, Pieter. Likewise, you African photographers have introduced me to some unusual birds here on BPN.

Great portrait of a very odd looking bird. We have the Bearded Reedling here in Europe which appears a lot like the parrotbill, but the bill is tiny on the reedling.
I liked the re-post better.

what a funny looking bird. I lik the repost. Do you have an image shwoing the whole bird? Just curious to see what it looks like in total :)