That just means I played the recorded call of another male of the species. Antbirds always defend their territory, so a little 'playback' usually gets them to come investigate.
iPhone + a small bluetooth speaker works well.
Last edited by Kester Clarke; 01-06-2014 at 08:17 AM.
Nicely designed image with good techs and processing. I love the BG and the leaves at bottom. I only wish the subject's head was not cocked towards the back.
Kester, thanks for the response. Do you make your own recordings or do you buy them online? I am not familiar with coaxing a bird down from the canopy using recordings. Does this work very well? Is this a common practice among the birders?
Yes, Terry. It's very common, at least in the tropics.
It certainly doesn't work for alot of birds, in fact sometimes it does the exact opposite. But when it does work, it can be very effective.
Before I visit a new area, I usually take a look at the list of birds expected to found there. I then go to xeno-canto.org and download the calls for the species that are likely to respond to them. Paid sources like 'voices of amazonian birds' and birdsounds.nl are also very good. My 16gb iPhone now doesn't have room for human music. :)
A well exposed and sharply focused shot of any bird in this family is an acheivement, and this photo certainly is that. It's a shame we can't see more of the back of the wing, which has nice patterning.
Eastern Slaty Antshrike
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