Mistletoebird - at nest

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

I found this nest accidentally on Xmas day 08 and was amazed at how close I could be just be sitting still. Anyway, these birds are rather specialized feeders and the seeds of the mistletoe berries pass through their digestive tracts within a 60-minute period. Here, we can see the female holding an excreted seed. I may post some of the male sometime soon, where we could clearly see the 'excretion' from the chick into his bill.

The parents then generally drop the seeds either near the nest or in the vicinity, which ends up potentially growing more mistletoe bushes.

I do wonder if anything strange happens when uploading to Flickr, as the image is razor sharp on the mum's face.






Canon EOS 30D, 1/800Sec.F8.0, Evaluative metering
Cropped a little off the left and bottom for composition.

[Robert O'Toole]

Akos!

How ya going!

Great image with perfect timing and great details, the tips of the chicks bills are just visible. Good exposure job in the broken up light. I really like the background information and the story behind it.

Have you seen what these birds do as they pass the seed? They wipe the seed on a branch on a video I have seen. It works out great for the mistletoe.

Robert

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Very interesting behavior and well-captured. I like the composition, nest and the details look good here. I look forward to seeing more of this species.

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

Hi Akos!
As mentioned above this bird is showing a very interesting behavior. Details, light and pose right-on.

[Marina Scarr]

Hi Akos

Your bird is tac sharp and you've done well with a difficult lighting situation. Love the story that this picture tells. Can't wait to see more pictures when the chicks are more visible.