Cock-of-the-Rock (F)

Gallery: AvianPosted June 30, 2012243 views19 comments

During my Peru trip I was really hoping to get some good views of the Andean cock-of-the-rock, Peru's national bird. Fortunately, my hopes were realized. Unfortunately, the much more colorful males were somewhat shy. It was the rusty-colored females that showed more curiosity and flashed into the open once or twice close to my position along the highway where we stopped to look for them. Nonetheless, the females themselves are still rather striking, and the birds are much larger than I expected (pigeon-sized or larger).

Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 500mm f/4 IS + 1.4x TC
ISO 800
1/60th - No flash (was probably recycling, because I have others from this sequence with flash... so this is a pretty good result!)
f/5.6

Max

Comments

19 comments

Comment posted by John Tobias on June 30, 2012 at 3:22 PM

I agree this is a 'pretty good result'. I like the pose, sharpness is great, eye detail is fine. BG supports the bird very well. I like the detail in the feathers and the colors. Now, if it was just the male!! Thanks for sharing.

Registered on September 12, 2009, 2120 Posts, 6455 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on June 30, 2012 at 5:10 PM

Noooooooo, you didn't get this...... we tracked them for hours and got only the quickest glimpse of red thru the trees..
Excellent shot and great colours. You might darken the bright areas a little, as they are a bit distracting.
Sandy

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by Suzanne Huot on June 30, 2012 at 5:17 PM

Congratulations on finding and photographing your target bird .Male or female i would be very happy to have seen either.The female here looks pretty attractive to me.The pose ,back ground and detail all look spot on to me .Can only add .wish it was mine.

Registered on December 28, 2010, 32 Posts, 240 Comments

Comment posted by Sharon Hallowell on June 30, 2012 at 6:19 PM

Really nice as posted. Congrats on this one! Sharon

Registered on November 1, 2003, 392 Posts, 4810 Comments

Comment posted by Keith Bauer on June 30, 2012 at 6:53 PM

Very cool image. Those colors are truly amazing. Nicely captured.

Registered on November 20, 2003, 458 Posts, 4836 Comments

Comment posted by Tonia Graves on June 30, 2012 at 7:01 PM

Very nice image of a species that is seldom seen on this forum! Great image as presented.

Registered on October 29, 2011, 92 Posts, 1035 Comments

Comment posted by S Govindarajan on June 30, 2012 at 9:24 PM

Congrats on getting this species, Max. The bird is very sharp for the SS. I really like the pose, head-turn and the eye. Great perch too! Second Sandy's suggestion on toning down the background. Would also like to see a larger version.

Registered on April 19, 2008, 115 Posts, 1921 Comments

Comment posted by David Williams on July 1, 2012 at 12:00 AM

Cool looking bird, Max. The head turn really shows off that eye and the feather detail.....nicely done!

Registered on March 8, 2005, 315 Posts, 2291 Comments

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on July 1, 2012 at 7:09 AM

Very nice Max, sure would like to tag along on a trip to Peru with ya

Cool bird - love the colors, details, & natural light

Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments

Comment posted by Hans Overduin on July 1, 2012 at 7:13 AM

Well, I'd be more than happy with this female

- wonderful shot in all respects and nice to see the bird free from the BG which is so hard in surroundings... Big thumbs up from Holland ! Cheers, Hans

Registered on August 31, 2011, 491 Posts, 3807 Comments

Comment posted by Rick Turner on July 1, 2012 at 8:24 AM

Max,
Beautiful detail, comp and background.

Flash would not have improved this

Registered on February 18, 2012, 534 Posts, 2755 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Olsen on July 1, 2012 at 9:32 AM

Very cool photo Max! Wish I'd seen one of these while there! I love the contrast between the feathers and eye.

Registered on October 19, 2006, 306 Posts, 1571 Comments

Comment posted by Cheryl Molennor on July 1, 2012 at 12:16 PM

pretty cool looking guy Maz . I like the perch too.

Registered on June 30, 2009, 300 Posts, 5051 Comments

Comment posted by Patrick O'Healy on July 1, 2012 at 3:40 PM

Wonderful shot. Her color is stunning. I particularly like the claws on the branch. The detail is stunning.

Registered on March 13, 2011, 326 Posts, 1679 Comments

Comment posted by Max Waugh on July 2, 2012 at 8:37 AM

Thanks for the feedback. I was pleased with the variety of birds I saw during the trip, but it seemed like a relatively small percentage were this cooperative (even for a mere instant) at this range. It's certainly not an encounter I'm taking for granted.

Max

Registered on September 26, 2008, 428 Posts, 2329 Comments

Comment posted by Bunn Martin on July 2, 2012 at 7:48 PM

Great image and beautiful bird. Very sharp subject and good BG.

Registered on September 17, 2011, 38 Posts, 167 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Archer on July 2, 2012 at 8:00 PM

Awesome Bird Max!!! You very did well with the limited time you had with her. Sweet Portrait!!!

Ken Archer