To me this (second photo) almost looks like two birds, one on top of the other. In fact there’s very little ‘almost’ about it – that’s what I see. But it’s a single Song Sparrow.
1/3200, f/7.1, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
A week ago today while I was photographing other birds in the mountains this Song Sparrow landed in a bush right in front of me. I prefer birds to be further away than this because when they’re this close my gear has very little depth of field so I usually can’t get the entire bird sharp. And then when I crop the photo the bird is typically too tight in the frame.
In this situation I was dealing with both problems but I fired away anyway because with birds you just never know what you might capture.
When ‘he’ roused unexpectedly he transformed into…
1/3200, f/7.1, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
some kind of monstrosity.
To me this incredible mass of feathers looks like two birds of different colors and patterns, one on top of the other, with the head of the bottom bird hidden behind the sparrow’s breast. There seems to be a clear delineation between the ‘two birds’ and there appears to be far too many feathers for a single bird anyway.
So every time I look at the photo I see two birds. I truly do. Is it just me?
1/3200, f/7.1, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
Less than a second later he had magically turned back into a single bird and flew off.
I don’t recall having ever seen anything quite like that second photo so I had to share.
Ron
Note: Just to be clear, none of these photos have been manipulated in any way. All I did during processing was crop and sharpen.
Ron,
What an interesting photo you have captured. After looking at the 2nd photo several times I’m having a hard time seeing only one bird. However, I only see 2 feet and 1 tail. A fun discussion. Thanks for your great effort.
Like the “Transformers” of the bird kingdom.
I only see one bird. Mind you I know that this doesn’t exempt me from the crazy label.
And I love that energetic rouse.
I have to work hard to only see one bird, EC.
The slice of time aspect if still photography delights my soul. That slice makes it so much easier to figure out what’s really going on since our eyes are far too slow to see it real time. And until you mentioned it, I only saw one bird in mid rouse 😉
Crazy? You say that like it’s a bad thing…LOL! From one crazy to another, YEE HAW for crazy!
Laura, to quote Waylon I’ve always been crazy but it’s kept me from going insane.
Incredible as it is, the before and after shots prove it’s only one bird. Or is there a missing “18 1/2 minutes” showing another bird?🤔
Nope, it’s only one bird, Lyle. It only LOOKS like two birds to many of us.
To be irreverent toward an old saying, would this be an example of “one in the lens and two in the bush?” 😉
Happy National Camera Day!
I’m afraid it isn’t a particularly happy camera day for me, Marty. I’m stuck at home by rotten weather and poor ight and I just now authorized an expensive repair on my old 1.4 teleconverter.
Hopefully tomorrow will be better.
Wow! Talk about getting caught with your pants down. An incredible moment to capture. Without a photo like this one really has no idea how many feathers a bird has that are usually hidden by those outer contuor feathers. Thanks for sharing a moment seldom seen by most of us.
Dan, if you haven’t seen it I’m confident that few people have.
I’m wondering if the bird is a female. It looks like the lower feathers in the front, the most amazing part of the photo to me, might be the feathers that drop off usually making a warmer patch to incubate eggs? There seems to be more of a mass there than that would explain. So maybe the bird is molting? I know that’s specific to each species, but not sure when song sparrows do it.
Nancy, I suppose it’s possible that the weird feather arrangement we’re seeing is somehow related to a brood patch. In some species both sexes have a brood patch but I don’t know if that’s the case in Song Sparrows.
Hard to believe it is one bird! There is even a difference in colors and textures between ‘the two’! The more I look I can even talk myself into two sets of wings! Great catch… 🙂
“I can even talk myself into two sets of wings”
Kathy, I can’t even decide for sure where the real wing is.
I stared, zoomed in and stared some more😆 What a fun picture ❗️
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Diana. Thanks.
Remarkable. Sure does look like two birds in that photo. Glad you did not pass up taking the photo. And in that last photo actually a very attractive sparrow.
Everett, I wish I’d been further away for that takeoff shot. If I had I’m sure I’d have liked it more.
Cute bird, yes when birds fluff all those feathers out there is a lot!
That is akin to the puffer fish blow out -do you think it got rid of the biting parasites in the nether parts? >whewie!< Or I am reminded of "Men in Black" movie aliens…reat treat to see anyway!
“real treat to see”
Diane, my eyes popped when I saw that photo on my camera screen in the field. I could hardly wait to get home and look at it on my big screen.
It’s certainly not just you. That sparrow does have a “double-decker bus bird” look to it.
““double-decker bus bird”
Well said, Ed. I wish I’d thought to put it that way.
That’s what it looks like to me, too. How weird the sparrow can make it’s feathers look like this.
I see it as well. Funny how a split second can capture something totally different. Birds are so much fun to watch. Too bad more people can’t appreciate our little friends.
“Funny how a split second can capture something totally different”
So very true, Jean. That’s one of the many reasons I love bird photography.
It totally looks like two birds to me, too. He must be sort of stretched up while he rouses, and it almost looks like there’s an under-layer of different feathers there. What will they think of next?!
Cathy, I’m glad I’m not alone… 🙂 When Judy said she only saw one bird I thought I might end up looking a little crazy, or at least crazier than I really am.
Yikes! Whata mess! 🙂 Only see one VERY “wild” sparrow. How it got all those feathers sorted is beyond me!.. 😉 If you didn’t have “context” you’d swear there was something VERY wrong with the bird…. 🙂
Judy, “context” is why in situations like this I try to post before and after photos.
It’s funny, as hard as I try I have a very difficult time seeing only a single bird in that second photo.