Elton John of the Bird World - Ruff

[Paul Lagasi]

I have travelled to Europe at least 25 times in the last 40 years. Having been born in Italy with lots of family to visit, frequent trips were required. Over the last 50 or so years since I've been a birdwatcher, the last 20 seriously, there was one bird in my guide, I've always wanted to see, that was a Ruff.

During breeding season the male Ruff has a bare colorful face patch, head tufts and a collar of ornamental feathers. These feathers can be red, black or white. All of these are lost during non-breeding season.

Until now this bird has evaded me but on a recent trip to Tromso, Norway, I finally caught up with a breeding male. Below is it's image. Now to find one in the ABA area.

I used Fotosketcher V 2.85, to create a painted look, then sandwiched the original with the painted version to get the desired look.

More photos from my recent trips can be viewed at my blog below, some cool stuff there more to come over the coming days.

Thanks for viewing