Orangethroated Longclaw

[Stu Bowie]

I took a drive through the nature reserve close to my house yesterday, and came away with this image. Notice how long the claw is on this guy.

Canon 50D
100-400 @ 400mm
1/1250
F/6.3
ISO 400

Exp Comp +0.33
Hand held from the car.

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Stuart, interesting claw indeed....and glad you captured it in the shot inspite of so many leaves. Loved the light, sharpness and pose.

I see two marks inside the open beak. One is tongue...not sure what the other one is.

[Stu Bowie]

Thanks Kaustubh. A lot of birds have fur/hair or what ever the correct terminology around their beaks, and I think that is what is there. I did see it, but left as is, as it does belong to the bird. Both "marks" are hair, as I think the tongue would be much thicker.

[Steve Kaluski]

Cracking little bird Stuart. Surprised about the quality of the lens especially at full tilt.:) The light looks quite bright, might help dropping the gamma a bit? Just a thought. Correct about the small hairs.

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Thx for clarifying. I wasn't sure what it was so asked.

[Dave Leroy]

Nice clean shot of the bird Stuart, and the claw is there to see.
It always surprises me by how complimentary and similiar the bg colours are to the particular bird shown.
I also like the bit of habitat.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

I like the angle, singing pose and eye contact. If you lightened the eye, I might darken the pupil a bit.

[Tony Whitehead]

Very nice, Stuart. Great light, colours, BG and singing pose. Whiskers (vibrissae) are common in insectivorous birds. Some aerial feeders have elaborate arrangements to funnel insects toward the mouth. Having the long claw visible adds a lot to this image.

[Markus Jais]

Great shot. Wonderful background and great composition. The open bill is great, as is the visible claw.

Markus

[Morkel Erasmus]

sweet light and cracking details mate. they keep eluding me. I see them, but don't get shots...
:)

[Jan Wegener]

that's a cool looking bird. Great Perch and singing pose :)

[Jim Crosswell]

I like the singing pose and habitat in this image. Well done!

[Stu Bowie]

Thank you all for the kind words. Much appreciated.

[Mark Dumbleton]

Lovely image Stu. Love the open beak and super OOF BG! Colours look spot on and enjoy the comp.
BTW, reeds at Marievale are sorted out :D

[Vida van der Walt]

So beautiful Stu! I find the claw very interesting and the species is aptly named. Love the open beak, great detail, beautiful colours and bg.:)

[Stephen Earle]

I love the light here Stu. Pin sharp as always. It's not easy to get a clear shot of these guys. TFS.