Rainbow Beeeater (Male)

Chris.Kookaburra
recent  |  interesting  |  random  |  favorites  |  contacts  |  sets  |  tags:  
Rainbow Beeeater (Male)
Rainbow Beeeater (Male)

Merops ornatus

This is the first photo of a series I will be posting of this bird and its mate.

I spent many hours during last spring and early summer sitting observing and photographing these birds. There were about 20 pairs nesting in a small area. Each pair was burrowing into the flat sandy ground to form their nest and each had their preferred perch branch not far from their nest.
This particular perch branch was well placed for me to use my car as a hide and sit and observe and take photos. All the photos are of the same pair of birds.

While perched these birds are virtually continually looking around for food insects in flight. When they spot a likely target, they will dart out and with great agility catch the insect and return to the perch to eat it, usually after holding it in their bill and thrashing for some time. Later in the period they would perch for a while and then take the insect to feed the chicks in the nest. I have selected photos to show the variety of insects they eat.

The photos span a period of 10 weeks. You can notice that towards the end of the period, the male’s tail streamers have been worn down / broken by repeated entry and leaving of the nest burrow.

© All Rights Reserved
Taken on: October 19, 2017
Tags: Everybody's photos tagged with Merops ornatus Merops ornatus Everybody's photos tagged with birds birds Everybody's photos tagged with rainbow rainbow more » Everybody's photos tagged with rainbow beeeater rainbow beeeater Everybody's photos tagged with avian avian Everybody's photos tagged with ornithology ornithology Everybody's photos tagged with bird watching bird watching Everybody's photos tagged with bee-eater bee-eater Everybody's photos tagged with DSC_2997 DSC_2997 « less
Groups appears in:   • Birds    • Field Guide: Birds of the World    more » • Birds , Birds Birds    • Aves - Birds    • Bird Fanatics! (No Limits)    • Australian Wildlife    • Unlimited Birds    • Bird Images    • Australian Birds    • Fotos de Aves    • ^ Wildlife of Australia ^    • The Friends Of Worldbirds    • Bee-eaters of the World: A Field Guide    • Aves del mundo / Birds of the world    • Birds Photos - Check out the new discussions!    • Kingfishers, Kookaburras, Pittas, Rollers, Todies, Bee-eaters    • Birds of NSW & the ACT, Australia    • Field Guide to the Birds of Aus    • AVES SIN FRONTERAS / Subes 1, comenta 3. (1 post / 3 comments.)    • Rainbow Bee-eater    • Australian Geographic    • Australian Nature Photographers    • Wild Bird Photography    • Louisa's Bird Gallery    • Birds of Australia    • Any kind of wildlife/nature    • Shutterbugz    • Wildlife and Landscape Photography    • * Wonderful World of Wildlife *    • Nature Birds Photos    • Best Birds Worldwide    • Wild Birds, Animals, Insects, Flowers and Beautiful Landscapes    • Nature and Animals (Wild Only)    • !Birds Everywhere Any Time!    • Beloved Birds    • Birdz    • Fotografiando Aves    « less
Camera: Nikon D7100, f/5.0, 1/1000 sec, 500mm (=750mm), ISO 640 (more info) (hide info)
Camera: Nikon D7100
Lens: 500.0 mm f/4.0
Aperture: f/5.0
Exposure Time: 0.001 sec (1/1000)
Focal Length: 500mm (35mm equivalent: 750mm)
ISO: 640
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program: Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode: Auto
Metering Mode: Multi-segment
White Balance: Auto
Gain Control: Low gain up
Sharpness: Hard
Color Space: Uncalibrated
Software: Adobe Photoshop CC 2014 (Windows)
Show full info
Stats: 2,042 views / 9 comments