Cuban Rooster

Gallery: AvianPosted July 1, 201286 views4 comments

This handsome fellow was running around on a very small farm near Holguin, Cuba last year. The only chickens I normally see are hens in supermarkets…..So, I found this portrait interesting especially because it shows quite a bit of detail. By identifying this as a rooster I'm relying on the large head comb. Males also show long tails and foot spurs but this image does not show those areas. The large textured red skin beneath the beak is termed a "wattle". Both the wattle and the comb have blood near their surface to help cool the bird by transfer of heat from the outside. In Cuba in the summer I don't expect that they help much!

All comments welcome.

1D Mark IV, 400 mm f/5.6, 1.4x TC, hand held: ISO 1250, 1/1000s, f/9, 0 EV (Manual), cropped to 7.5 MP (47% of the 16 MP of the 1D Mk 4), usual slight NR, exposure adjustment and sharpening.

Comments

4 comments

Comment posted by Jim DeWitt on July 1, 2012 at 10:57 PM

Good detail; as flattering a shot as this fellow is likely to ever give. I've been off roosters since staying at Koke'e State Park on Kauai. It was shortly after a typhoon had come through, and there were escaped jungle fowl everywhere. And the roosters crowed pretty much 24/7.

Registered on August 28, 2006, 1240 Posts, 8506 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on July 2, 2012 at 12:09 AM

Very nice portrait of this fellow!
Sandy

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by keith mitchell on July 3, 2012 at 1:54 PM

Excellent portrait of this fine chap.

Keith.

Registered on July 12, 2008, 127 Posts, 1735 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Balke on July 5, 2012 at 9:53 AM

Thank you so much for the comments, everyone.

Registered on June 18, 2009, 229 Posts, 2915 Comments