Vik's Gallery:   Chowchilla (1/4)

PASSERIFORMES: Orthonychidae

Orthonyx spaldingii  

A male Chowchilla foraging on the rainforest floor.

The orange markings on the bird's head I think are probably remnants of juvenile plumage as it transitions to adulthood.

A tripod is an unwieldy accessory to cart through the rainforest but it makes possible the obtaining of natural light photographs in the dark rainforest conditions and on this particular day we were also in the clouds, which didn't help.

This photograph was taken at ISO 3200 and still required 1/25 second at the maximum aperture of F/5.6.

The bird knew I was there (I was hard to miss and the camera shutter makes a significant noise) but it was content to keep foraging while I remained still allowing me to exercise my strategy of taking several photos in the hope that the bird would remain still enough during some exposures for a reasonable capture.

Thank goodness for the digital age and the fact that I'm not paying for film.