Meanwhile, at the Lincoln Park Zoo
Oct 16, 2021 09:34:08 #
Inca terns live along the Pacific coast of South America, from northern Peru to south and central Chile. They are surface feeders feeding mainly on small fish like anchovies but also on crustaceans. They often follow fishing boats and surfacing sea lions looking for scraps. Although they are not listed as endangered or threatened in the wild, they are listed as a PMP (population management program) for captive populations.
Inca tern by Paul Sager, on Flickr
The Golden-breasted Starling's diet is composed almost entirely of insects. Adult birds catch insects in flight and dig up termite mounds to find prey.
Golden-breasted starling
The images shared in this post come from the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, Illinois in July 2021, after the zoo reopened from an extended pandemic closure. The Canon FD 500mm f/4.5L was extended by the Canon Extender FD 1.4X, creating a 700mm configuration. All images were captured in RAW using a Sony a7II mirrorless body mounted to a tripod. The image files were processed using Adobe Lightroom and Topaz DeNoise v6.
'Duck' is the common name for a large number of species in the waterfowl family Anatidae which also includes swans and geese. Ducks are mostly aquatic birds, mostly smaller than the swans and geese, and may be found in both fresh water and sea water. Ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the family Anatidae; they do not represent a monophyletic group (the group of all descendants of a single common ancestral species) but a form a 'taxon', since swans and geese are not considered ducks. Whistling ducks are found in the tropics and subtropics. As their name implies, they have distinctive whistling calls. They have long legs and necks, and are very gregarious, flying to and from night-time roosts in large flocks.
Whistling Duck
Even though masked lapwings tend to avoid humans, many live near urban areas. They nest in unusual places, such as building roofs, school playgrounds, golf courses, gardens, and more. Nests are usually either a scratch on the ground or a small mound of grass and debris. Masked lapwings are unmistakable thanks to their large yellow wattles.
Masked Lapwing
Nicobar pigeons have a gizzard, a muscular organ used for grinding food, that allows them to digest hard nuts that humans often open with a hammer.
Nicobar Pigeon
Inca tern by Paul Sager, on Flickr
The Golden-breasted Starling's diet is composed almost entirely of insects. Adult birds catch insects in flight and dig up termite mounds to find prey.
Golden-breasted starling
The images shared in this post come from the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, Illinois in July 2021, after the zoo reopened from an extended pandemic closure. The Canon FD 500mm f/4.5L was extended by the Canon Extender FD 1.4X, creating a 700mm configuration. All images were captured in RAW using a Sony a7II mirrorless body mounted to a tripod. The image files were processed using Adobe Lightroom and Topaz DeNoise v6.
'Duck' is the common name for a large number of species in the waterfowl family Anatidae which also includes swans and geese. Ducks are mostly aquatic birds, mostly smaller than the swans and geese, and may be found in both fresh water and sea water. Ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the family Anatidae; they do not represent a monophyletic group (the group of all descendants of a single common ancestral species) but a form a 'taxon', since swans and geese are not considered ducks. Whistling ducks are found in the tropics and subtropics. As their name implies, they have distinctive whistling calls. They have long legs and necks, and are very gregarious, flying to and from night-time roosts in large flocks.
Whistling Duck
Even though masked lapwings tend to avoid humans, many live near urban areas. They nest in unusual places, such as building roofs, school playgrounds, golf courses, gardens, and more. Nests are usually either a scratch on the ground or a small mound of grass and debris. Masked lapwings are unmistakable thanks to their large yellow wattles.
Masked Lapwing
Nicobar pigeons have a gizzard, a muscular organ used for grinding food, that allows them to digest hard nuts that humans often open with a hammer.
Nicobar Pigeon
Oct 16, 2021 09:59:28 #
Oct 16, 2021 10:07:39 #
CHG_CANON wrote:
Inca terns live along the Pacific coast of South A... (show quote)
Well done!
Birds are among my favorite photographic subjects. One thing I have often wondered about is what purpose the (in my view) superfluous appendages some birds have on their faces like in #4.
Of course, for believers in evolution everything happens by chance (accident?) and for no specific reason.
Oct 16, 2021 10:10:12 #
Thank you Paul for such a nice set. All the work put in describing each subject was very interesting. Really enjoyed your post.
Oct 16, 2021 11:03:46 #
FotoHog wrote:
Well done!
Birds are among my favorite photographic subjects. One thing I have often wondered about is what purpose the (in my view) superfluous appendages some birds have on their faces like in #4.
Of course, for believers in evolution everything happens by chance (accident?) and for no specific reason.
Birds are among my favorite photographic subjects. One thing I have often wondered about is what purpose the (in my view) superfluous appendages some birds have on their faces like in #4.
Of course, for believers in evolution everything happens by chance (accident?) and for no specific reason.
Thank you Kip! I'm a big fan of aviaries where the birds are a little bit normalized to humans as well as can't completely disappear into the foliage.
Oct 16, 2021 11:03:50 #
Thank you Toment, Kip, George! I'm gearing up for several zoo visits over the pending holidays as I venture outside the Chicago city limits for the first time since Dec 2019.
Oct 16, 2021 12:59:57 #
Oct 16, 2021 13:55:21 #
Another excellent set, Paul. I really like the expression on the starling.
Oct 17, 2021 00:51:25 #
FotoHog wrote:
Well done!
Birds are among my favorite photographic subjects. One thing I have often wondered about is what purpose the (in my view) superfluous appendages some birds have on their faces like in #4.
Of course, for believers in evolution everything happens by chance (accident?) and for no specific reason.
Birds are among my favorite photographic subjects. One thing I have often wondered about is what purpose the (in my view) superfluous appendages some birds have on their faces like in #4.
Of course, for believers in evolution everything happens by chance (accident?) and for no specific reason.
"Believers in evolution" are also known as "thinkers". They think about the theory of evolution and accept it based on the evidence. In this case they "think" that the evolution of well endowed wattles provides an additional sexual attractiveness to mating pairs. This results in more successful matings and more offspring, compared to less well endowed wattles. More offspring with well endowed wattles again mate more successfully and pass on those genes to the next generations. Nothing "superfluous" about it!
Oct 17, 2021 06:05:44 #
Nice pics. I particularly like the Starling. I might have cloned out the ID rings. Pigeon colors are beautiful. 
Oct 17, 2021 07:21:39 #
CHG_CANON wrote:
Inca terns live along the Pacific coast of South A... (show quote)
Wow Paul, talk about tack sharp!!! These are outstanding!!!
Oct 17, 2021 07:41:24 #
Oct 17, 2021 07:47:14 #
Thank you NMGal, Retired CPO, Delderby, junglejim1949, Gary! This was my first indoor trip with the longer FD 500L. The lens has a much longer minimum focal distance than an equally old FD 300 f/2.8L that I own. The extender along with the 500mm let me better pick-out the more distant birds, but the birds are many times so close, I struggled with the 500 not being able to focus. The stop+ difference in the two lenses also showed in the dim light. I may reconsider the 500's role in these indoor aviaries.
Oct 17, 2021 08:22:33 #
Oct 17, 2021 09:19:09 #
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