ugly as sin

[John Chardine]

This is a Rook, a European corvid (crow). Rooks breed in noisy colonies in the tops of trees. I saw this bird in the town centre of St. Andrews, Scotland. It had its eye on a garbage can. The bluish cast on the feathers is real and probably structural in nature- i.e., not produced by pigments. A face only a mother could love!

Canon 40D, 70-200mm f4 IS, 1.4x tc = 280mm
capture date: Friday, 22 August, 2008 5:30:05 PM
exposure program: Aperture Priority
ISO speed: 640
shutter speed: 1/200
aperture: f5.6
exposure bias: +0.0
metering: Pattern
flash: OFF

[Linda Robbins]

You are right....a face only a mother could love! Still, a nice portrait of this scruffy rather unattractive guy. Good composition and exposure.

[Raymond Barlow]

fantastic image John., congrats on a cool close up.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Interesting how the bill is crossed at the very tip, and I like the new feathers growing on the forehead.

[Judy Lynn Malloch]

Great portrait John with excellent detail and perfect exposure on the blacks. Fine work !!!!

[Amy DeStefanis]

I dunno - I have a vulture that might just out-ugly him. He does have that interesting blue sheen to his feathers.... nicely coiffed.

Amy D.

[carole wiley]

Ugly, but well exposed and composed. Actually, I don't think he is all that ugly.

[Gus Cobos]

Excellent composition John. The colors and details are superb...:cool: