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Apostlebird


Apostlebird
Photo Information
Copyright: Richard Cridland (rcrick) Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 717 W: 38 N: 1560] (5019)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2008-09-10
Categories: Birds
Camera: Canon EOS 1D Mark III, Sigma 50-500mm 4.6-6.3 APO DG HSM, SanDisk Extr. IV 2Gb, Hoya 86mm UV
Exposure: f/5.6, 1/200 seconds
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version
Theme(s): My Backyard Birds [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2008-09-09 20:53
Viewed: 785
Favorites: 1 [view]
Points: 26
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
The Apostlebird is a medium-sized dark grey bird with a short strong bill, brown wings and black tail. It is normally seen in groups of six to ten birds, and is usually seen on the ground.

It belongs to the group of birds known as 'mud-nesters', the Family Corcoracidae, noted for their communal life style and their bowl nests constructed of mud and plant fibers.
It is sedentary, with some local movements to more open areas in autumn and winter.
The Apostlebird usually eats seeds and vegetable matter, insects and other invertebrates and, sometimes, small vertebrates. In autumn and winter, it will move to more open country, where seeds become the more important part of its diet. The Apostlebird forages on the ground in groups, often in association with the White-winged Chough.

Apostlebirds form a 'breeding unit' of around ten related birds - a dominant male and several females plus immature birds (the previous season's young) that act as helpers. The nest is a large mud bowl, placed on a horizontal branch 3 - 20 m high, and reinforced and lined with grass. All members of a group assist with nest building, as well as feeding of nestlings, while only the adults usually incubate the eggs. More than one female may lay eggs in the same nest.

While many eggs may be laid, usually only four nestlings will survive to fledge, with numbers possibly restricted by the size of the nest. Two broods may be raised in a season.

Audio Link:- http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/images/audio/struthidea-cinerea.mp3

Link: http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/finder/display.cfm?id=133

Details: Shot Raw, converted to Jpeg, slightly cropped & sharpened for posting.

Camera Model Canon EOS-1D Mark III
Shooting Date/Time 10/09/2008 12:41:40 PM
Shooting Mode Aperture-Priority AE
Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/200
Av( Aperture Value ) 5.6
Metering Mode Partial Metering
Exposure Compensation -1/3
ISO Speed 320
Lens Sigma 50-500mm
Focal Length 266.0 mm
Image Size 779x800
Image Quality Jpeg
Flash Off
White Balance Mode Auto
White balance compensation A1 G1
AF Mode AI Servo AF
Picture Style Neutral
Sharpness 5
Contrast 2
Saturation 1
Color tone 1
Color Space sRGB
Long exposure noise reduction 2:Enable
High ISO speed noise reduction 1:Enable
Highlight tone priority 0:Disable
File Size 161 KB
Drive Mode Low-speed continuous shooting
jpinkham, Jamesp, SelenE, JoseMiguel, jpdenk, loot, jaycee, Argus, Adanac has marked this note useful
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Discussions
ThreadThread Starter Messages Updated
To Janice: Apostlebirdrcrick 1 09-14 16:11
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Critiques [Translate]

  • Great 
  • Jamesp Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1351 W: 0 N: 5494] (16524)
  • [2008-09-09 22:30]

Hi Rick

The pose and detail in the feathers here are really lovely and very well captured.

JAmes

  • Great 
  • SelenE Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2405 W: 63 N: 4227] (13822)
  • [2008-09-09 23:47]

Hi Rick,
A nice portait with good details and POV. I agree with James about the details in the feathers, they are lovely. TFS
Greetings,
Selen

Hi Rick,
Your backyard soon will be becoming a famous one :)
You got so close to this bird, I like a lot the fine details got on the feathers, they're really pleasant to look at, all of them pointing at different directions, in total harmony.
Excellent picture and thanks to post it.
Kind regards,
JM

  • Great 
  • cako Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 545 W: 0 N: 735] (3213)
  • [2008-09-10 4:30]

Hi Richard
very nice portreid
very good sharp and detail
well done

Hi Rick

You did well to get so close to this appostlebird, a comical species I must say. Great plumage detail, excellent sharpness and composition.

Chris

  • Great 
  • jpdenk Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 480 W: 5 N: 783] (2061)
  • [2008-09-10 11:12]

Hi Rick,

An absolutely exquisite close-up, perfect sharpness and detail, beautiful light, went right into my Favorites.

John

  • Great 
  • loot Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 5452 W: 594 N: 3651] (10035)
  • [2008-09-10 16:41]

Hi Richard

A fabulous close-up shot of this Apostlebird. Spot-on details of its very interesting plumage and excellent contrasts. It is always nice to see yet another visitor from your backyard.

Well done and TFS.
Regards
Loot

  • Great 
  • jaycee Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2493 W: 11 N: 6885] (21912)
  • [2008-09-11 21:55]

Hi Rick,

This Apostlebird is a new one for me. I have never seen such wonderful feather details before. A very nice portrait of this handsome bird.

Jane

  • Great 
  • Argus Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3824 W: 190 N: 11393] (35107)
  • [2008-09-11 22:47]

Hello Rick,
Never got to see and Apostle Bird, so its great to see this close capture, especially the feather details showing their unusual structure with excellent sharpness.
TFS this fine image,
Cheers,
Ivan

What super feathers this Apostlebird has Rick. They look so fine and have such an unusual pattern. Excellent close-up shot of him.
Good shot
Thanks for posting, and have a great week.
Janice

I looked them up on Wikipaedia and it is interesting to see that this is a reason why it got this name:
"Apostlebirds always seem to travel in groups of about 12; for this reason they were named after the Biblical apostles - the twelve followers of Jesus Christ."
But others say they travel in groups of 6-20!!

Hello Rick

Amazing plumage detail.
The focus is sharp with wonderful clarity.
You have utilized the natural light to full effect.
Great job.
TFS

Wolf

  • Great 
  • Adanac Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1169 W: 1 N: 5208] (17609)
  • [2008-10-09 15:18]

Hello Rick,
Just look at the outstanding plumage details in this incredible closeup, WOW. Great camera work my friend.
Rick

A fine specimen, Rick. Well-chosen point of view and excellent presentation of the plumage. Although it's a bit tough to make out that dark eye, I'd say the rest of the exposure is excellent. Nice stand-alone capture, and good work on the thorough, informative note.

Warm regards,
Jim

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