Hooded Parrot ( Psephotus dissimilis)

[Jan Wegener]

Just arrived back home from an epic trip to Darwin, Australia. The main goal was to find and photograph Hooded Parrots. After photographing the Golden-shouldered Parrots last year, I really wanted Hooded Parrots. The only images I could find of these birds before the trip were taken on grass, so my goal was to get something different. Hooded Parrots, like Golden-shouldered Parrots only breed in tall termite mounds. So I wanted them on such a mound. It turned out to be much harder than I'd ever imagined.

I had to stand in 40 degrees (104° F) heat for several hours and was constantly attacked by billions of flies, but hey, in the end only the results counts, right!? ;)

This is my favourite image of a male Hooded Parrot on a termite mound.

There's nothing more exciting for me than photographing a new and stunning parrot species.



1D Mark IV
600 L IS
2x TC
F 11
ISO 800
1/500

[Sidharth Kodikal]

This is so stunning, Jan. Kudos on your perseverance and execution to come up with results like this. No nits whatsoever - fantastic as is.

[Tom Rambaut]

Fantastic image - probably the best image of this species taken to date by anyone.

[PhilCook]

WOW and double WOW....brilliant shot of this species Jan, one I have never seen. The ant hill perch is superb as well, very natural ..........just perfect !

[Marina Scarr]

A very unique image and your hard work and tolerance for the harsh elements really paid off.

[arash_hazeghi]

very nice image, great pose and perch.

[vishaljadhav]

Nice Image, great looking bird and a great composition

[Jim Crosswell]

Great image Jan! I like the pose, HA, perch, colours, BG and composition.

[Jerry van Dijk]

Fantastic image! Good to see that your perseverance paid off. You may want to add a little sharpness to the parrot (but just a little), to me it seems a little softer than the termite mount, with which it has to compete for attention. Very well done!

[Lorant Voros]

Respect, Jan. Your work is truly outstanding and inspiring.

[Kiran Poonacha]

really loved the frame,, great looking bird too..

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Superb image Jan, the bird is a beauty and well worth the effort. I like the perch, looks like the cerebrum!

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

What a great and unique composition. I really like the different shapes, textures and colors.

[Frank Schauf]

Fantastic. Wonderful pose, colors and background.