African Darter with Prey

Gallery: AvianPosted May 14, 2016144 views13 comments

Here's one from Chobe, Botswana in 2014 that I hadn't posted before. We found this African Darter with this fish, it was having a really tough time getting it down and tossed it in the air several times, I think it eventually gave up.
Canon 5D3 500F4 1/3200 F7.1, iso 1000, handheld from boat

Comments

13 comments

Comment posted by Mike Ramy on May 14, 2016 at 2:52 PM

Outstanding Nate . . . devil

Registered on June 16, 2012, 567 Posts, 2809 Comments

Comment posted by John Tobias on May 14, 2016 at 2:53 PM

This is a really neat photo! How did you ever get the fish to grab the birds tongue like that? Great detail, color and composition. Thanks for sharing.

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

Comment posted by Raoul Breaux Jr on May 14, 2016 at 10:33 PM

Great action capture, Nate! Very good sharpness and well composed. It is amazing just how large a fish these guys can get down.

Registered on April 27, 2016, 20 Posts, 142 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Zablotny on May 15, 2016 at 8:20 AM

Hi Nate,

I like this shot because both bird and prey are nice and sharp. The fish is a species of Synodontis which are known as upside down catfish because they often swim upside-down. They are quite spiny and the darter was probably poked by the sharp fin spines......................Jim

Registered on January 17, 2004, 705 Posts, 3594 Comments

Comment posted by David Schoen on May 15, 2016 at 1:04 PM

Really nice catch here for both of you. The background with two different OOF colors is very nice and suits the image so well.

Registered on November 6, 2006, 1213 Posts, 4587 Comments

Comment posted by Jefferson Silva on May 15, 2016 at 3:01 PM

Amazing image. Very good details.

Registered on December 18, 2012, 162 Posts, 975 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on May 15, 2016 at 5:29 PM

Incredible timing on this one Nate, and perfect techs. The angle of the head and the fish work extremely well together. A superb image.

devil

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on May 15, 2016 at 5:54 PM

Absolutely love this one Nate! Can't think of any way to improve it. That fish sure came out at the perfect angle as well! Great work devil

Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Thompson on May 16, 2016 at 10:56 AM

Wow Nate, timing and placement couldn't be any better on this. Great detail too. devil

Registered on August 7, 2014, 125 Posts, 2319 Comments

Comment posted by Jake Alletson on May 17, 2016 at 12:53 AM

This is a really nice action shot and I suspect that the bird might be young and inexperienced. The fish which it is trying to swallow is one of the many catfishes which have vicious dorsal and pectoral spines. These are clearly visible in the picture. In some cases the spines are not only sharp but are also covered by an irritating or toxic mucus. Their purpose is for self defence against predators and so it is no wonder that the bird gave up trying to swallow it.

Registered on May 3, 2016, 12 Posts, 163 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Archer on May 17, 2016 at 7:00 AM

Looks like a pretty difficult task to swallow this meal, perhaps it was best to give up and find easier prey to swallow.

Very cool action behavior you captured here Nate laugh