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Sunbath


Sunbath
Photo Information
Copyright: Ralf Lukovic (ralfsworld) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 500 W: 88 N: 1785] (6006)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2005-06-16
Categories: Birds
Camera: Canon 20D, Canon 100-400L 4.5-5.6 IS USM
Photo Version: Original Version
Theme(s): sunbath [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2007-05-15 5:20
Viewed: 648
Points: 30
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
This is my second post of this beautiful bird. Captured with 20D @ 400mm, handheld. Hope you like it :)


The Azure-winged Magpie (Cyanopica cyana) is a bird in the crow family. It is 31-35 cm long and similar in overall shape to the European Magpie (Pica pica) but is more slender with proportionately smaller legs and bill.

It has a glossy black top to the head and a white throat. The underparts and the back are a light grey-fawn in colour with the wings and the feathers of the long (16-20 cm) tail are a beautiful azure blue. It inhabits various types of coniferous (mainly pine) and broadleaf forest, including parks and gardens in the eastern populations.

It occurs in two population groups separated by a huge geographical region between. One population lives in western Europe, specifically the south western part of the Iberian Peninsula, in Spain and Portugal. The other population occurs over a much larger region of eastern Asia in most of China, Korea, Japan, and north into Mongolia.

Often Azure-winged Magpies find food as a family group or several groups making flocks of up to 30 birds, and their diet consists mainly of acorns (oak seeds) and pine nuts, extensively supplemented by invertebrates and their larvae, soft fruits and berries, and also human-provided scraps in parks and towns.

This species usually nests in loose, open colonies with a single nest in each tree. There are usually between 6–8 eggs that are incubated for 15 days.
deblink, uleko, claudine, Rolf, SelenE, MMM, jaycee, falke, coasties has marked this note useful
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Critiques [Translate]

bonjour
bien vu cette photo , cet oiseau a des couleurs magnifiques, mais vu la posture il semble en difficulté
bravo et merci du partage
edith

What an amazing looking bird Ralf. You have captured it in an amazing pose too. In this pose we get to see its colours well. The quality of the image is fabulous with great lighting. Nice one.
cheers,
Debbie

  • Great 
  • uleko Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2320 W: 164 N: 6917] (21924)
  • [2007-05-15 6:40]

Hello Ralf,
I wonder if he's displaying or sunbathing or what he is up to? Great capture in which the beautiful wings are spread out so nicely and showing the azure colour. This is such a lovely bird, we've seen it in Coto Donana.
Excellent composition!
TFS, Ulla

Hello Ralf!
Great composition of very beautiful and coloured bird species. The pose of this bird remind me some birds observed in Hornsund fjord (Spitsbergen) but then the birds did not look for the sun but rather tried to "swindel" me and to show thet they are "hurt". As you probably known very vell it is a kind of behaviour which has to protect eggs and youngs againts predators.

Light, POV, DoF and note are very good in your photo. It is a pleasure to watch it :)
TFs and best regards,
Radomir

This is such a beautiful specie Ralf! I wish that we had this bird here. This moment is superb and so are details, exposure, POV and colors. What a beautiful one!
Claudine

Hello Ralf , very strange behaviour and photo , good colors , TFS and good luck.

  • Great 
  • Rolf Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Note Writer [C: 59 W: 0 N: 27] (196)
  • [2007-05-15 8:46]

This is really nice pose of this bird showing you all his beauty.
Details and colours are great.
TFS
Rolf

  • Great 
  • MMM Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 736 W: 0 N: 1495] (6744)
  • [2007-05-15 9:25]

Hi Ralph
Excellent POV the color are very nice.I loved the catchlight in the bird eye and the sharp details from the plumage.
TFS Michel

  • Great 
  • SelenE Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2301 W: 59 N: 3644] (11674)
  • [2007-05-15 9:26]

Hi Ralf,
The pose is great! Colors, sharpness and the composition is very good. Cool shot :o)
TFS
Selen

  • Great 
  • jaycee Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1639 W: 8 N: 4185] (13683)
  • [2007-05-15 10:32]

Hi Ralf,

This is wonderful of the sunbather. The bird is gorgeous with those amazing colors and wings. Excellent details - singing in the sunshine. I love it!

Jane

  • Great 
  • falke Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 156 W: 17 N: 443] (1590)
  • [2007-05-15 10:40]

Wow, Ralf! What a beautiful photo!
I love everything in this photo... fantastic bird in a very interesting pose. Great colours and perfect sharpness.

Maybe the frame steals a bit to much of the restricted area of 800 px.

TFS/Bengt

I love it!!!
Hi Ralf - that's perfect - what a wonderful moment. Look at these beautiful wings, the colour is so pretty. Thanks so much for sharing it with us
Sabine - wishnugaruda

  • Great 
  • Argus Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2422 W: 132 N: 6903] (21601)
  • [2007-05-15 14:22]

Hej Ralf,
Great capture of an Azure-winged Magpie having an ant-bath! (Using ants to get rid of parasites). Fine sharpness, colour and composition.
TFS,
Hälsningar, Ivan

Synd att Gälstaviken gick dåligt, men det ska vara bra för fåglar och jag hoppas åka dit någon gång framöver när jag hälsar på minson i Uppsala.

  • Great 
  • manyee Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3060 W: 231 N: 5811] (19542)
  • [2007-05-16 0:09]

Hello Ralf.
That is such an interesting behaviour on the part of birds,
a behaviour recorded by quite a few members.
Fascinating the way the bird flattens itself against the ground.
This one is displaying some beautiful feathers,
and you captured them with sharp details and perfect exposure.
Gorgeous colors.
TFS. : )

Hi Ralf

Love the way the bird has spread everything out to catch the warmth of the sun. Good clear plumage detail. Nice camera work. :-)

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