In honor of Halloween, I present to you, a dinosaur dressed up as a bird.
Category Archives: Bird
Black-necked Swan (Cygnus melancoryphus)
This black necked swan distrusts your intentions.
Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus)
The ancient Egyptians liked this bird so much, they made graffiti of it on EVERYTHING.
Bird
As noted earlier, birds are dinosaurs. Back when they were dinosaurs, it was much harder to get shots like this because of the size issue. The larger a creature is, the more light you need to freeze the action. This shot was possible with a small bird using only two small flash units. Doing this with a large dinosaur would have required at least ten flash units, an assembly of light trees to position them properly, a very large piece of fruit and the invention of photography.
Grey Crowned Crane (Balearica regulorum)
It’s hard to get a good bird portrait. Ideally, such a shot is against a very smooth background and is composed such that the iris is in crystal-sharp focus and there’s a bit of light on the eye. These “catchlights” look very different on living animals than on stuffed or dead ones and helps to psychologically convince the viewer that the animal is healthy. Birds are particularly difficult because they’re constantly preening their feathers, so are in constant movement. Thus, as they move their head, the background changes, the focus changes and many positions cause the catchlight in the eye to go away. Getting a good shot largely involves a mix of luck and patience. Good lenses help, but really, patience overwhelms every other consideration.
Nicobar Pigeon
Four things of interest.
1) Birds are dinosaurs.
2) A lot of dinosaurs has feathers.
3) There is no reason to believe that coloured feathers are recent.
4) Colouring books have yet to adapt to these facts, so be sure to draw the feathers on with a pen before colouring them in.
Nene (Branta sandvicensis)
The nene lives in Hawai’i and is the rarest goose in the world. By 1952, its population was down from 25,000 birds to only 30. This is because their primary food source, camera gear, had been sent to Europe to document the activities of Word War II.
Kettle of Hawks
Birds of prey, like hawks, form groups in the late summer and circle updrafts together as a mixed-species flock. Experts believe this is in preparation for migration. Actually, it’s about ethics in games journalism.
Rainbow Lorikeet (Trichoglossus haematodus)
It takes rainbow lorikeets many hours to assemble a custom bouquet. But you know what? You’re worth it.
Major Michell’s Cockatoo (Cacatua leadbeateri)
Zoos are generally good at identifying when animals should not be photographed and when flash should not used. Some, however, not physically sensitive to the process, but just emotionally sensitive. For example, as soon as I walked up with the camera, this cockatoo began blushing.
Penguin
Penguins don’t have teeth, so they have evolved little mouth (beak?) barbs so the fish only go in one direction.
Thick-billed Parrot (Rhynchopsitta pachyrhyncha)
You can tell Autumn is on the way when the parrots start to change their colours.
Ducklings
Ducklings grow dark lines around their eyes so they have an innate advantage over chickens when playing football.
Too Hot
You know it’s a hot day when the animals in the zoo start taking ice cream breaks.
Andean Condor (Vultur gryphus)
This Andean condor wishes you to make yourself perfectly welcome in his parlor. He is afraid that he must absent himself for a short time but assures you that all is safe and that it is best to ignore any unusual noises you may hear coming from the dark stairwell in the back of the room.
Ibis
What’s black and white and everything all over?
Flamingo
She’d been living in the woods for weeks. It took a while, but she was able to adapt her skills from the streets to her new environs. Stealing a gentleman’s wristcomp wasn’t all that different from snaring a grouse. Street rats and squirrels both gathered caches of food that could be pillaged if you watched and waited. Keeping an eye out for coppers, even when sleeping, required the same ever-present awareness you needed to avoid the invaders.
Until today.
Today, in fleeing one triad, she ran into another that she has not sensed. Though she successfully got away, she found herself in a part of the forest she’d never seen before. She could hear both triads off in the distance, looking for her. Taking a few deep breaths, she forced herself to calm down and she climbed a tree to ascertain her whereabouts. Though she saw nothing familiar, there was a glint of sun coming nearby from the green. She marked hew way to the water, hoping that she could lose her scent.
Before she could climb down, though, there was a tremendous flash far off in the distance that could only mean one thing. The dome had given way. London had fallen. As she watched, fighter pods converged where she knew the city must be. Letting a sigh, she climbed down and, resignedly, made for the lake. She knew it wouldn’t last forever, but living half starved in the wild was better than the half-life she could expect were she captured.
The noise of the triads pursuing her faded into the distance as she neared the lakes edge. Exhausted, she waded to her waist and stopped, staring down at her reflection. She thought of her friends (and enemies) in the city and the fate that was almost certainly befalling them. She thought of the life she wanted, but now could never have. As she watched, a tear fell, ripping the still waters.
Then she heard a voice. “It is time.”
As the water began to bubble, the voice spoke. “Long, long, ago, this day was foretold. Seize your weapon. The future rests on you.”
As she stared in astonishment, a perfect flamingo rose from the depths, shaking itself three times. As if in a daze, she reached out, and grasped its leg, preventing it from flying free.
It was England’s darkest hour.
And Alice was armed.
Black Swan
Black Swan is rated R for strong sexual content, disturbing violent images, language and some drug use.
That’s why they make the kids go home at night.
Peacock
Here we see the lethal peacock leaping from the bushes to attack a squirrel.
Peacocks subsist largely on small rodents. Their bright colours serve to attract mates, but also serve as camouflage as they lurk in bushes, awaiting their colour-blind prey.
Goose
Geese have corduroy bills so you can hear them chewing their cud and be warned prior to any attack.