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The swedish parrot!


The swedish parrot!
Photo Information
Copyright: Bengt Falke (falke) Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 156 W: 17 N: 458] (1682)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2007-12-30
Categories: Birds
Camera: Canon 40 D, Canon 300/4 L IS USM + EF 1.4 ext. II
Exposure: f/5.6, 1/500 seconds
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version, Workshop
Date Submitted: 2008-01-08 9:11
Viewed: 1084
Points: 26
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Intro:
This is Parrot Crossbill (Loxia pytyopsittacus/Större korsnäbb) feeding from pine, one of the best ways to determine the difference between common and the parrot crossbills. We found a big flock with maybe 20 birds feeding on a couple of pines, while we were having a coffee break from our search of Bearded Tits. One of our friends went for a small stroll with a sandwich and a cup of coffee in her hands when she suddenly tried to get our attention. The reason was these amazing birds!

They were quite occupied feeding and did not take very much notice of us. Our son could even climb one of the pines and when they moved to that tree he had them within one meter from his eyes! To bad he did not bring the camera with him......

Geographic info:
This is from Uknö glo to the north of the small coastal town Västervik on the east coast of sweden.

Technical information:
Canon 300/f4 lens + 1,4 extender on a Canon 40D body, in rawformat. I used Adobe Lightroom for some adjustments before the final edit in Photoshop CS3.

Unfortunatly my camera were at 800 iso and in the rush I didn't notice it until it was too late... ;o(

Just crop, white balance and a bit hue.
Noise reduction with Noiseware professional
Sharpening with Photokit capture sharpener

About the specie:
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

The Parrot Crossbill (Loxia pytyopsittacus) is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae.

This bird breeds in the pine forests of northwest Europe and into western Russia. There is also a small population in Scotland, adding to the difficulty of distinguishing it from Common Crossbill and the endemic Scottish Crossbill, both of which breed within its range.

This crossbill is mainly resident, but will erupt south and west if its food source fails. This species will form flocks outside the breeding season, often mixed with other crossbills.

The crossbills are characterised by the mandibles crossing at their tips, which gives the group its English name. They are specialist feeders on conifer cones, and the unusual bill shape is an adaptation to assist the extraction of the seeds from the cone. The Parrot Crossbill is a specialist feeder on the cones of Scots pine.

Adult males tend to be red or orange in colour, and females green or yellow, but there is much variation.

This species is difficult to separate from Common and Scottish Crossbills, and plumage distinctions are negligible. The head and bill are larger than in either of the other species. The bill is thicker than those of its relatives, and the crossed tips are often not readily apparent. Extreme care is needed to identify this species. The deeper, harder choop or tyuup call is probably the best indicator.

Some pine-feeding populations currently assigned to Common Crossbill in southern Europe may possibly be better referred to either this species or alternatively to new species in their own right, but as yet, research into them is still at a very early stage.
Arjun, jaycee, earthtraveler, pvs, nglen, jusninasirun, MMM, uleko, Miss_Piggy has marked this note useful
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Discussions
ThreadThread Starter Messages Updated
To ralfsworld: Havsörnfalke 1 01-09 02:26
To earthtraveler: Much better!falke 1 01-08 11:25
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Critiques [Translate]

  • Great 
  • Arjun Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 359 W: 7 N: 1114] (5420)
  • [2008-01-08 9:19]

hi bengt,
lovely picture.there is a bit noise,
TFS

  • Great 
  • jaycee Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2493 W: 11 N: 6885] (21912)
  • [2008-01-08 9:29]

Hi Bengt,

I'm not sure if I have ever seen this bird before. His colors are beautiful. Nice details of the face and plummage. I love the pose on the tree. I can't imagine seeing 20 of them - fantastic.

Jane

Hi Bengt,
Very nice POV/pose of this Crossbill. Amazing color and nicely composed. The BG has strong noise which I did a quick work shop to remove. Please tell me what you think. TFS
Richard

  • Great 
  • pvs Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1168 W: 261 N: 3035] (13835)
  • [2008-01-08 10:27]

Hi Bengt,

A nice and colorfull capture,although I think you have cropped it quite a bit,anyway you made a closer approach I ever made on this colorfull bird,although I have seen them sometimes high up in the trees,tfs

Paul

  • Great 
  • nglen Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2926 W: 34 N: 8678] (32334)
  • [2008-01-08 10:49]

Hi Bengt. What a fine close up of this bird. good detail and bright colours . good detail and a nice POV.well done TFS. good details too.
Nick..

Nice bird and beautiful color, i"ve never seen these before.
Good capture.

Hej Bengt
Nice shot of this Swedish parrot :)
TFS
Ralf

p.s. Korsnäbb och Skäggmes ligger på min lista för den här året och du har fixa båda :) Om det finns hafsörn också då är jag i dina trakter i närmaste framtiden...

Hello Bill,
This is a beautiful bird captured in good position. Good details on the feathers and beak with shiny eyes. I like it.
Best regards,
Jusni

Hello bengt,
This is a very beautiful bird well captured!
good close up with excellent sharpness, wonderful colour and details in the composition!
very good useful notes
cheers
tony

  • Great 
  • EOSF1 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1381 W: 126 N: 5246] (23469)
  • [2008-01-09 10:01]

Hello Bengt ! What a great shot of that Crossbill, the composition is fantastic, the details are very good and the exposure is fine. You've got some digital noise though, when you do birds try keeping the ISO at 400 or less. Thanks !

Mario

  • Great 
  • MMM Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 926 W: 0 N: 1998] (8963)
  • [2008-01-09 15:03]

Hello Bengt
Nice presentation of a specie I had never seen before.I like the pose of your subject and the catch light in the eye.
TFS Michel

  • Great 
  • Argus Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3840 W: 190 N: 11430] (35227)
  • [2008-03-06 8:23]

Hello Bengt,
The noise caused by heavy cropping at an inadvertant ISO 800 is not too disturbing if I look at this image at a distance of about I meter.
Then it looks great: fine POV, lighting composition and colouring of this shot of a male Parrot Crossbill.
Thanks for sharing this one,
Best regards,
Ivan

Om du vill ha bra närbilder på båda korsnäbbsarter är Friseboda i sept/okt oslagbart! Lycka till med det nya jobbet!
Hälsningar, Ivan

  • Great 
  • uleko Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3012 W: 162 N: 1012] (2959)
  • [2008-03-07 10:19]

Hej Bengt,
Det var länge sedan! - Lovely capture of the Parrot Crossbill in bright sunshine. I like its pose among the Pine needles. Lovely colours and good enough details in spite of the high ISO.
TFS and best wishes, Ulla

Hallo Bengt
You have a wonderful selection of bird images in your gallery and I could not resist stopping at some of them. This vividly coloured Parrot Crossbill caught my eye in a flash as the colours of the plumage are striking. I love the pose, the colours and the details - this is a delight to the eye and the heart. You have done a fabulous job on this crossbill which is a new bird to me! All the best for 2009 and may you have plenty photographic opportunities awaiting you.
Best regards
Anna

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