Male Superb Fairy-wren by RobGeraghty, on Flickr

[Sailor]

The detail is real magic, Rob. Very nice job.

Jer

[joelbolden]

Detail is right! Nice.

[RobG]

The detail is real magic, Rob. Very nice job.

Detail is right! Nice.

Thanks guys! The DFA 150-450 has amazing resolution. It really shows how the resolution of the lens exceeds that of the camera.

[Mike L]

That is a cracking shot!

[arnold]

Great shot, and so cute!

[RobG]

That is a cracking shot!

Great shot, and so cute!

Thank you both! Fairy wrens are in deed super cute.

[Tonytee]

Just a very wonderful capture sir. Nicely done and thanks for posting.

tt

[Mike L]

Thank you both! Fairy wrens are in deed super cute.

Cute but fast moving, I just noticed your shutter speed was 1/2000th and the little guy still managed to get a little bit of movement in the tip of his tail.

Rob, you might be interested in the The Fairywren Project – Teaming up with citizen scientists to capture the variation in Australia's fairywrens

[RobG]

Cute but fast moving, I just noticed your shutter speed was 1/2000th and the little guy still managed to get a little bit of movement in the tip of his tail.

Rob, you might be interested in the The Fairywren Project – Teaming up with citizen scientists to capture the variation in Australia's fairywrens

Thanks for the pointer! Yes, they are really frustrating to try to capture - like trying to photograph the ball in a game of ping-pong! I already submit ebird checklists, so it would just be a matter of the extra codes. Not sure why they are saying "dull male" rather than an Eclipse male though. More reading required.

[photolady95]

That's just not fair. You guys down under have some amazingly colorful birds. And this one is one is just so pretty. TFS Rob.

[RobG]

That's just not fair. You guys down under have some amazingly colorful birds. And this one is one is just so pretty. TFS Rob.

Thanks! We are extremely lucky in that respect - I just checked and I don't have a photo of a Rainbow Lorikeet online, but below is a Crimson Rosella. I'd love to get photos of some of the other species of Fairy Wrens, but so far I haven't had any success with the Splendid Wren, which is the closest. In Queensland I've seen two other species (Variegated and Red-backed) but haven't had a photo opportunity.


Songbirds evolved in Australia, and I suspect that Parrots have been here a very long time as well, given the number of species. I remember when I got a field guide to birds in the USA noticing how drab they were. I'd be curious whether anyone has ever suggested a reason why birds in some places are more colourful than others.


Crimson Rosella by RobGeraghty, on Flickr

[photolady95]

Yes, you guys down under have parrots and cockatiels walking around in your front yard, roosting in your trees. All we have for color here is the Northern male Cardinal, or the Blue Bunting (which has red and yellow stripes on it) and the Blue Jays that quite bright blue, but we have some nice Baltimore Oriels that are quite pretty too, and the American Gold Finch, which in full mature size is bright yellow with black on it's head . Then we have the flickers, and the Red-Bellied woodpecker plus a Pileated Woodpecker, which is quite large and very colorful. So, not all our birds are drab, just the females are. You just have know where to find them there. The ones above I've mentioned, have been in my yard to my feeders and/or to my bird bath.

[photomax7]

Quality image from that lens & your good self...well done RobG.

[RobG]

Yes, you guys down under have parrots and cockatiels walking around in your front yard, roosting in your trees. All we have for color here is the Northern male Cardinal, or the Blue Bunting (which has red and yellow stripes on it) and the Blue Jays that quite bright blue, but we have some nice Baltimore Oriels that are quite pretty too, and the American Gold Finch, which in full mature size is bright yellow with black on it's head . Then we have the flickers, and the Red-Bellied woodpecker plus a Pileated Woodpecker, which is quite large and very colorful. So, not all our birds are drab, just the females are. You just have know where to find them there. The ones above I've mentioned, have been in my yard to my feeders and/or to my bird bath.

Yep, I've seen the Cardinal and Blue Jay. The Grackles have quite cool plumage - not obviously pretty from a distance, but they actually have rainbows in them if you look closely. Plus there's birds with cool behaviours like the Dipper and Hummingbirds.