The Male Western Kingbird In All His Glory

Some flight poses are made to show off the “best” features of a species. I think this posture comes close to that for the Western Kingbird.

 

western kingbird 6186 ron dudley

1/3200, f/5.6, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in)

This is the male of the mated pair I’ve been photographing on Antelope Island as he takes off from his favorite perch.  I like the good look at both open wings, the flared tail and the nice head turn with light on the face. We also see the distinctive subtle (and not so subtle) ventral yellows and two white outer tail feathers.

At f/5.6 I had very little depth of field but with this pose the entire bird is in the same plane relative to my lens so all of the bird is sharp.

Ron

Trip report: Rain greeted us on our arrival at the Montana-Idaho border yesterday afternoon but we saw plenty of birds and we have clear skies this morning so I’m hopeful for a productive day or two. A nasty surprise awaited us in Idaho and I’ll report more on that once I know more about it.

12 Comments

  1. Such a wonderful little bird, Ron!! His yellow reminds me of a canary – so sunny!!

  2. charlotte Norton

    Absolutely awesome flight shot Ron! A masterpiece!
    Charlotte

  3. Ooooh. And ahhh. And Wow!

  4. ” GLORIOUS ‘ is absolutely the right word !

  5. That bird is saying, “WHEEE! I LOVE flying!” …and I’m jealous! How I would love to be able to fly!!! Are the two outer tail feathers all white..or outlined in white???

  6. I can’t help hearing: “ta-da!” When I look at him. Fabulous!!

  7. Definitely a show-off pose! And a gorgeous portrait. There’s something about the bird’s posture/facial expression that says he knows he’s beautiful and is posing for the specific purpose of educating you to that fact. He sort of reminds me of a ballet dancer, too. I think this is one of my favorite shots you’ve taken.

  8. Ron, thanks for always pointing out the field markings. I often get lost just seeing the wonderful photos and forget the details. The outer white tail feathers especially. Thanks.

  9. Ron, this is a spectacular shot!!!!

  10. Thank you…. fabulous photo!
    CJ

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