They are neat birds. Fun to photograph; usually challenging conditions, meaning DARK!

Thanks. Not sure what "Iechyd da" means.

Thanks for looking and commenting.

I like all the Antpittas but this one is my favorite.

Thank you. Had fun taking image.

Finally finishing my images from Panama. This bird, a Black-crowned Antpitta, is my favorite member of this family of birds. Again, these are ground birds that can fly, but prefer not to. Rather they hop, jump and scurry in the undergrowth. I was very fortunate to have a guide that knew that this individual liked to hop on this dead tree limb before darting back into the undergrowth. Without a guide, this bird, or most other Antpittas, would be invisible to the average tourist. You can hear them easily, but seeing them is another matter.
This image was taken with a Canon R5, 600 f/4.0, SS 1/250. ISO 6400, f/4.0, EC 0.0. Handheld. Processed in PS with BG brought down slightly.

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Usually I like to have the bird I am photographing dominate the image. In other words, the bird is the "star". Sometimes that might show action or even environment, but still the bird should be the first thing your eye travels to. This image is much different than that. This is a Chestnut-headed Oropendola; these are much less common than other species of Oropendolas in Central America. Typical of Oropendolas, (related to our Orioles in the USA), they build their nests communally-there may be 5-50 nests hanging in an individual tree. Some types of these birds also raise their young communally. In this image I wanted to emphasize the incredible nests they build. In this tree there were 20+ nests and this individual was hopping from one nest and looking inside. Not sure if he was lost and looking for his (her?) brood or not. This image was taken a long ways off-probably 100'+. Cropped moderately from bottom. Bird was brought up slightly and BG was darkened slightly.
Shot in Panama near Canopy Lodge with a Canon R5, 600 f/4.0 lens off a tripod. SS 1/2000, f/5.6, ISO 3200, EC of +0.6.

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Thank you everyone for looking and commenting. I have to admit that I am pleasantly surprised by everyone's favoring of this image. I like it, but it is certainly not an image that is typical of what I usually like to take and process.

The goal of most bird photographers is to take an image that is representative of the species of bird they are photographing. Usually this means getting the entire bird, or at least the most important parts of the bird, in the frame. If the bird is doing something (feeding, flying, fighting, etc), all the better. Sometimes though, getting the entire bird in the image is not possible. This bird, a Crested Owl, was photographed near Canopy Tower in Panama. The pair (there is another one to the left) roosts in approximately the same place every day, so finding them is not difficult. The problem is they like to roost far back in the trees and brush (to avoid harassment from small birds) so getting a clear shot of them is difficult to say the least. This was the best I could do. Processed in PS with facial shadows brought up. Cropped to square aspect to emphasize the view of the face.
Shot with a Canon R5, SS 1/200, ISO 3200, f/4.0, 600 f/4.0 lens, off of a tripod.

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You are absolutely correct; it would be nice however, if my images had no flaws. LOL! Never happens.

Nice words. Thanks.

Thanks. Not sure how outstanding it is, but it is a very difficult bird to photograph well (at least in my experience).

Thanks. I can see your thoughts about cropping, but this is already about an 80% crop.

Thanks for looking and commenting. I agree with you. Enough "uniqueness" to warrant keeping it.

Not a beauty at all.