I created this image on Dec 26 near Varadero Cuba. I had noticed a small flock (~12) of Anis near where we were staying a few days earlier so I visited the location again. As I suspected they frequented the location. I had never been exposed to these birds before so I took my time. They had been on the ground feeding but flew into this bush after several groups of people passed nearby including a couple on scooters.
I spent about 25 minutes with the flock in all and watched 5 of them gradually join together on one branch. It took quite some time before all five faced me (sort of). They didn't seem nervous about my presense and I did manage to stay within 3 metres of them for this image.
Canon 40D, Sigma 50-500mm @ 226mm Handheld. 1/320 seconds, F8, Manual control, ISO 640. no flash. ~85% of Full frame image.
This has a very busy BG and foreground but I was still pleased to capture this unusual looking group.
This is amazing! Not only a great habitat, but you got great head angles on four of them and a decent profile on the fifth. The vegetation really frames them well. A beauty in my book!
As Fab said, not easy to capture all of them with a good profile at the same time. The only thing I would do, is to remove the brown bean hanging from the top right of the frame. Good capture!
Absolutely brilliant Stephen. Love the balance of the image, habitat and eye contact. I would dodge the head of the bird second from left to brighten up the shadow a bit.
These are great birds with an interesting breeding system where the young associate with parents and help raise the next brood of young by feeding them.
Smooth Billed Anis All in a Row
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