Pretty Lady

Gallery: AvianPosted June 27, 201354 views5 comments

I thought this female cattle egret was especially pretty. Taken at the rookery in downtown Dallas. Comments and critiques welcome.

Canon 7D
Canon 100-400 @ 400mm
1/100 s
f11.0
ISO 320

Comments

5 comments

Comment posted by John Sherman on June 27, 2013 at 9:32 PM

A pretty bird indeed. I'm curious as to how you can distinguish the female from the male of this species. This looks a tad underexposed. Also a wider open aperture would blur the BG a bit and allow a faster SS.

ps Is that a Night Heron in the BG?

Registered on March 10, 2013, 31 Posts, 142 Comments

Comment posted by Jerry Austin on June 27, 2013 at 9:36 PM

I believe the female has yellow eyes and the male red eyes. I'm not absolutely sure about that. Maybe someone out there can weigh in. I believe it was a night heron in the background. The image ended up being a bit dark after posting. I agree it is a bit under exposed.

Registered on January 6, 2012, 651 Posts, 3448 Comments

Comment posted by Roger Kirchen on June 27, 2013 at 9:53 PM

What a pretty bird in a nice pose. I had noticed the different eye color in one of your previous photos. The red-eyed one seems to have a more reddish bill.

Registered on March 6, 2011, 95 Posts, 847 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on June 27, 2013 at 10:07 PM

I second John's comments on sex of the bird and exposure.

I've never seen a field guide give clues to sex. The saturation of bill color is a function of the breeding state, with maximum color indicating "high breeding." It may be that males get brighter than females during this period but I don't recall ever reading about that.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1031 Posts, 12705 Comments

Comment posted by Sharon Hallowell on June 28, 2013 at 10:26 AM

It is a pretty bird and you captured nice details on it. Agree with the exp and ap. Sharon

Registered on November 1, 2003, 392 Posts, 4810 Comments