The white-throated rock thrush is one of the most beautiful of the Monticolas. This is a first-year male. His parents probably nested in northeast China or Russia. I shot him in a coastal forest near the Yellow Sea in Jiangsu. He'll end up in southeast China or southeast Asia for the winter.
Device: Nikon D300
Lens: VR 600mm F/4G
Focal length: 600mm
VR: OFF
Aperture: F/7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/100s
Exposure Mode: Manual
Exposure Comp.: 0EV
Metering: Center-Weighted
ISO Sensitivity: ISO 320
Nice portrait, would probably suit a vertical to enhance the comp. The one thing that really hurts this IMHO is the dark OOF tree? in the BG. Otherwise it's a pretty nice image. :)
Another nice portrait of an interesting bird. Agree with Akos about the OOF dark area. I fiddled with it a bit, and because the background is so smooth in texture, you could pretty easily paint over the darker area and do a very convincing job of blending and smoothing it. Combining that with a slight crop from the left would help handle the dark band well.
Cheers
Craig, good looking thrush, and I like the pose, colours, and detail. Another vote for trying a vertical, and I like the lighter pastel colour of the BG.
Good suggestions from above, and I would also like to add that I find the WB a little too green...try adding some red to it (Color Balance) - you might like the result.
I'm always looking forward to which new species (for me) you will present!