Saddleback

[Tony Whitehead]

This endangered New Zealand bird is largely confined to predator-free islands such as Tiritiri Matangi in the Hauraki Gulf where this was taken. It spends a lot of time on the forest floor searching amongst leaf litter for food so it was good to catch one on the forest edge in decent light and with a reasonable background.
Nikon D300
Nikon 200-400 @400mm
1/320 f4 ISO 800
Flash -1.7

[Doug Brown]

Nice shot of an endangered species Tony! I like the contrast here between the dead leaves in the FG and the green leaves of the BG. Too bad there wasn't enough light to stop down a little. I might add a little canvas up top if possible. Thanks for posting!

[Sabyasachi Patra]

I wish you could have got more dof but it is not always possible with endangered species. Sighting one and taking a shot becomes more important than anything else. Thanks for sharing.

[Alfred Forns]

Excellent Tony I like the settings Not sure that the front leg is dof related, seems it moved? Would only move the bird down in the frame just a little I like it a lot excellent image !!!

[Glenn Bartley]

Great job on such a rare species.

[Loukie Viljoen]

Well done under difficult circumstances

[Simon Bennett]

Great capture - excellent clarity around the face.

[Ramon M. Casares]

Great shot, I was going to comment on the BG but after reading what you've said, I guess it is a good BG for this species, congratulaitons!

[Grady Weed]

Doug and Alfred pretty much covered it all for me. I might add however that the grin is a real bonus. It gives the image character.

[Linda Robbins]

Photographing birds in forests and rain forest areas certainly is challenging. Fantastic job getting such a rare bird in difficult circumstances. Excellent head angle and sharp detail on the face. The bg is very complimentary. Well done.