Pied KF head massage

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

This pied KF was photographed at Mankwe hide, Pilanesberg NP, SA. It was fun to watch him from close quarters. As a part of preening ritual he kinda was cleaning/drying his head with his wing!
f/7.1
1/3200
ISO 800
5D III
700mm

[Richard Flack]

Hi Sanjeev, interesting pose and nice to capture some different behaviour. Also nice and sharp and good exposure. I do however find the branch in the background a bit distracting. TFS

[arash_hazeghi]

nice find! the preening pose is cool but I wish we could see the eye better. the big OOF branch in the BG is very distracting

TFS

[David Salem]

The head scratching pose looks cool and the techs look good overall. The branch in the BG is way to overwhelming IMO and takes away from the bird. Nice find

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Sanjeev, once again, Im so glad for you for getting your Pied Kingfishers at Mankwe. Typical preening pose, and great that he hadnt closed his eye with the nictitating membrane. Im fine with the OOF branch in the BG, as I know the location well. I tend to reposition myself to get the best BG as long as it suits the subject.

[Binu John]

Love the pose you captured, Sanjeev! Excellent exposure and details. TFS