\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n 1\/2500, f\/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D, Canon EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM +1.4\u00a0tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Here the female is begging for food from her mate who is just out of frame at lower-right.\u00a0 The “noise” made by both birds during the process is cacophonous.\u00a0 This image was taken on March 28 prior to incubation so this would be courtship-feeding.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/1600, f\/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D, Canon EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM +1.4\u00a0tc, not baited, set up or called in\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n This image was taken on April 17.\u00a0 I’m quite sure the female (on the left) had been incubating\u00a0just prior to this shot.\u00a0 You can see food in the beak of the male and quite naturally each bird has its nictitating membranes closed to protect their eyes during the rambunctious exchange.<\/p>\n I was struck by how ratty the tail of the female looks in comparison to that of the male.\u00a0 I suspect the reason for that is the fact that during incubation\u00a0she must spend so much time in the enclosed nest chamber where there isn’t enough room for that long tail to\u00a0remain straight that her tail takes a lot of abuse as it is bent against the rough sides of the interior chamber.<\/p>\n That however is speculation on my part.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Female Black-billed Magpies beg aggressively for food from the male prior to and during incubation.<\/p>\n![\"black-billed](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/black-billed-magpie-1107-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"black-billed](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/black-billed-magpie-4079-ron-dudley.jpg\")
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