Western Kingbird

[Steve Canuel]

40D, 400DO + 1.4xTC, f6.3, 1/400s, ISO 400,
+2/3, handheld in car, cropped a little all around.

[Danny J Brown]

Nice kingbird shot, Steve. Kind of a butterscotch color on the torso that really looks great on my monitor. I like the wing color as well. This critter has a majestic little eagle pose going on. I happen to be in the "like barbed wire images" school so I'm good to go with that as well. Interesting bokeh with the area around the head going to white - very clean. Sooooo......I guess I'm saying I really love this shot. Don't see too many bird shots from out your way.

[kenn threed]

I've never seen the Western variety and he's a beauty!

Excellent job with the color and exposure in a backlit situation.

very nice indeed,

Kenn

[Dan Busby]

I am very familiar with these birds Steve. The pose does justice to their majestic presence and their "rule" over the territory. Whether or not you planned it, I think the gradation from blueish BG below to whiteish BG above really sets off the bird.

[Rodney Flowers]

Great image! Love the colors. The bird looks good. Can't really say I see anything wrong with it myself.

[Dave Brown]

Hi There,

I'm somewhat hesitant to comment on this bird since all Tyrant Flycatchers are rare Newfoundland and it's been several years since I have seen Western Kingbirds out west. It seems that at this angle the whitish outer tail feathers should be obvious,yet I can;t see any sign of them in this photo. Western's can wear off the white outer edges but June would seem an early date for this to have happened. I think this bird deserves further scrutiny with Couch's Kingbird (probably quite rare in Colorado) in mind. A photo that showed the bird back on would probably be telling.

Dave Brown

PS: you could post this to the ID forum,unless your absolutely positive it's a Western.

[Steve Canuel]

Thanks for the comments everyone.

Dave, I'm not 100% sure on the ID so I posted it in the ID forum.