Zebra Finch

Zebra Finch (Taeniopygia guttata)

This species is native to Australia and very common there. It is also widely kept as a caged bird in North America. There are many color variants. This photo was taken at Bird Kingdom in Niagara Falls, Canada (please see my previous post for more detail on the visit there).

These two birds had actually built a nest in the aviary. Here we see them a short distance away from their nest seemingly trying to figure out what I was up to.

I like the image because of the "heads together" posture of the birds. I do wish the rhs bird had a catchlight but it was not to be. As previously mentioned a flash was generally necessary on this dark day. For this image, flash compensation was used (set at -1 I think). I'd be interested to know if it appears over-flashed to any of you.

All comments most welcome.

1D Mark IV, 100-400 mm f/4.5 to f/5.6, , flash 580 EX II, hand held: 400 mm, ISO 400, 1/1000 s, f/5.6, 0 EV, 7.3 MP (46% of 16 MP full frame), NR, exposure adjustment, sharpening.