Andean Cock-of-the-Rock

Gallery: AvianPosted March 5, 2011175 views10 comments

Olympus E-5, 300mm x 1.4 TC, handheld
f7.1, 1/320, ISO640

Old Loja-Zamora Road, southern Ecuador. Cropped 50%. Selective sharpening of bird. For those familiar with this species, the color is accurate. The southern Ecuadorian Cock-of-the-Rock is oranger than its northern cousin.

It's not the highest quality photo I've ever posted, but I thought the bird was unusual enough to justify the reduced detail.

C & C, please. Thanks for looking.

Comments

10 comments

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on March 5, 2011 at 9:14 PM

Even at this relative size in the frame the subject stands out nicely, the bold vibrant color of the bird is very striking Jim.
Very unusual, almost odd looking head/eye/beak relationship here..i.e. the beak looks too small for the head, and the eye seems set back too far..maybe it's just me.
Thanks for posting this most out of the ordinary bird

Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments

Comment posted by John Tobias on March 5, 2011 at 10:43 PM

Jim, nice shot. I have only seen this bird in zoos. Good to see a nice image. IMHO there is a slight magenta cast, and the contrast seems abit low. Must have been a thrill to see it and get such a good image. Thanks for sharing.

Registered on September 12, 2009, 2120 Posts, 6455 Comments

Comment posted by Ashley Vincent on March 5, 2011 at 10:56 PM

Hi Jim,

Unless I'm mistaken, I think I saw another picture of this bird recently, perhaps also taken by you (?), in that one the beak was so small it was hardly discernible at all. Definitely one of the strangest-looking birds I've ever seen, but very enjoyable to look at, thanks for sharing :^)

Kind regards,

Ashley

Registered on March 1, 2011, 154 Posts, 2083 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on March 6, 2011 at 10:34 AM

An extremely interesting bird Jim. You caught a nice profile to give us the best look and the natural setting works just fine for me. Must have been a thrill for you to get this.

Registered on March 30, 2007, 437 Posts, 10915 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Willison on March 6, 2011 at 1:46 PM

Sure is unusual, and a great find, techs nonetheless. It takes center stage in spite of the branches. Glad you posted it.

Registered on April 10, 2009, 292 Posts, 3967 Comments

Comment posted by Simon Bennett on March 6, 2011 at 3:46 PM

Well done on a getting a good image of such an iconic bird.

Registered on February 4, 2007, 350 Posts, 4614 Comments

Comment posted by Max Waugh on March 6, 2011 at 6:56 PM

Nice detail of a bird I'd love to see some day. I'm also seeing a bit of a caste, as John did.

Max

Registered on September 26, 2008, 428 Posts, 2329 Comments

Comment posted by Michael Lotito on March 6, 2011 at 8:18 PM

Beautiful looking bird Jim! It has that not from around here look! Very nice colors and composition. It looks like you were dealing with a bit of harsh light.

Registered on June 26, 2009, 181 Posts, 1558 Comments

Comment posted by Bryan Hix on March 7, 2011 at 1:46 PM

Cool bird Jim. The eye is striking. You might want to increase the blacks and/or contrast and possibly adjust the WB; it seems to have a magenta cast.

Registered on June 13, 2008, 117 Posts, 755 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Hackley on March 7, 2011 at 9:26 PM

If only that one branch where not there, actually we could say that on most of our images but this is one colorful bird with a colorful name. There does seem to be a magenta cast to this, however the detail looks pretty good to me for a 50% crop when viewing the larger image and I really like the composition, way to go, what an experience that must of been.

Registered on September 17, 2009, 302 Posts, 5535 Comments