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Member Of The Flycatcher Family
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| [Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note |
This wee guy was having quite a sing song. He played beautifully for the camera, but, it was the wrong time of day. Thanks for looking.
Tomtit: This is a New Zealand member of the flycatcher family, subfamily Muscicapinae, to which also belong the native robin and fantail. In spite of the common name and some resemblance in appearance and habits to the tits or titmice of Britain and Europe, the two are not related; the name, although well established, is therefore misleading. Maori names were miromiro (North Island) and ngiru-ngiru (South Island); scientifically the species is Petroica macrocephala.
There are five subspecies. One occurs on the North Island and its off-lying islets, one on South Island and Stewart Island and their off-lying islets, one on the Chathams, one on the Snares, and one on the Auckland Islands. Minor differences in colour and size separate the races, with the exception of the Snares Island bird which is wholly black. The others are, in general, dark above with a white wing bar and pale on breast and belly. North Island birds have white underparts; those of the South, Stewart, Chathams, and Aucklands are yellowish below. The upper plumage of males is black; that of females is brown and, in general, duller throughout than that of males. The Auckland Islands females are exceptions in that their plumage closely resembles that of the males.
Tomtits are sometimes confused with the native robins to which they are closely related, but they are much smaller, have a larger and more obvious area of white or cream on their underparts, carry a white wing bar (less conspicuous in the female), have not so upright a stance as the robins, usually hold their wings drooped, and are more active and spend much less time on the ground. Habitat is primarily beech forest, though they may also be found on the edges of clearings in scrub and in plantations of introduced pines. In winter, orchards and gardens may also be inhabited.
Tomtits are insectivorous. Breeding occurs from August to January, with the peak about November. The males set up and defend territories and the females make nests of moss, fine twigs, and straws bound together with cobwebs. There is a tendency to place these in hollows or cavities fairly close to ground level. During the incubation of the three to five eggs, the females are fed by the males. Two broods may be raised in a season.
The above obtained from http://www.teara.govt.nz/1966/T/Tomtit/Tomtit/en
IMAGE INFORMATION
Camera: Canon 20D
Time of day: 1:03 p.m.
Date: 6th May 2006
Weather conditions: Between Rain Showers
Lens: Canon 100-400mm L IS
Filter: Hoya 77mm UV
Shutter Speed: 1/160
F-Stop: F/5.6
Focal Length: 400mm
ISO: 200
Original file type: Digital Raw |
sway, Janice, sandpiper2, marhowie, Snoops, SkyF, ramthakur, timonejoon, elefantino, hekcik, liquidsunshine has marked this note useful
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- sway
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 303 W: 85 N: 308]](http://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-g-g.gif)
(1224) - [2006-05-29 5:09]
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HI Pam,
Nice shot of this cute little fellow.
Great details and nice and sharp.
Well done
:)
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- Janice
(18648)
- [2006-05-29 5:30]
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So this is the elusive NZ Tomtit Pam. What a little cutie. He does look a little show off too. And he's smaller that the NZ robin, that was small enough for me.
Super catch and I say BRAVO!
Janice
Good shot in rainy weather.
Great sharp details and a nice POV.
Looks similar to our Hooded Robin.
Hi Pam,
Well done under adverse conditions. I like the excellent sharpness and detail I see, and it's well composed, great POV.
Well done and TFS!
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- Snoops
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 71 W: 0 N: 170]](http://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-n-g.gif)
(555) - [2006-05-29 8:52]
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Dispite light against you this is still a wonderful photo well captured..
Thanks for sharing Pam :)
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- SkyF
(8127)
- [2006-05-29 8:58]
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Hi Pam,
beautiful capture. A great close up, the details are of excellent sharpness. A beautiful composition, POV is perfect, the DOF amazing.
Sky
Beautiful image of this cute little bird.
TFS.
Hi pam
Soooo Cute, so sharp, great details.wow, great shot Pam great shot. evry thing is perfect. let me just watch and say nothing about the technics.
well done
TFS
Regards
timone
Great shot, Pam!!!
Nice colors, details and composition, overall.
Andrea
Hi Pam,
Good detail, colours and sharpness. exposure and lighting are good. Good POV and composition.
Thanks for posting, have a great week.
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- osse
(7801)
- [2006-05-29 20:15]
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Hi Pam
Great bird shot again. Great sharpnes, colours, details, light, DOF and POV. Also beautiful frame and good note.
Well done Pam
osse
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- loot
(10031)
- [2006-05-29 23:43]
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Hi Pam
Thanks for introducing me to this wee Tomtit. Quite a cute little fellow is he. As you said, "it was the wrong time of day" so you had to deal with some harsh light and dark shades, but I think you overcame that most brilliantly. Just a slight pity the black face got a little lost in the darkness.
Anyway, it is a great capture, exposing the beauty of this little songster.
Well done and TFS.
Regards
Loot
![Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 188 W: 45 N: 223]](http://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-s-g.gif)
(760)