Scissortail Flycatcher

I haven't seen one of this since moving from Oklahoma where it is the state bird. The vermilion color just under the wings is like the light of beautiful sunset. Tail is really long and scissor-like. They are very adept at catching insects on the wing.

Canon 40D 100-400@400mm, f7.1, 1/2500, ISO 400, auto WB, handheld.

These are such beautiful birds Daniel. I just love their coloration.

This image looks pretty sharp to me, but lacks detail for some reason. Did you apply any noise reduction?

Nice image, Daniel, is that guy sitting on a power line?

Here it is without the noise reduction. There is a bit more detail.

Wonderful bird Daniel, to bad that wire couldn't have been an old tree branch. I can see more detail in the second especially the small feathers below the eye, to me the second looks better. Of course the blue background does show more grain but in this web quality it is insignificant and not a problem. Another beauty of our feathered friends.

I agree, a more "natural" setting would have been better, but then most times when you see a Scissortail in the wild it is on a highwire! They make great vantage points for watching flying insects. That same day I also shot a Loggerhead Shrike on the top of a light pole in a parking lot. It had just swooped down to capture a mayfly or something. Nice pic, but all that painted metal . . . yuck!