Mrs. Sunbird ?

[Deepak Mistry]

Captured in a nearby Botanical garden, my recent haunt for closeups of birds.
Nikon D7200, Tamron 150-600, 1/640 sec., f/6.3, ISO-800
I'm not sure if it's a female or a male in transition. A few spots can be seen on the neck, maybe transition to breeding plumage ?

[Abhishek Jamalabad]

Not too sure without other angles, but I would give benefit of doubt to thinking this is a male in transition. Given the time of year, I'd think this is a transition out of breeding plumage rather than into breeding plumage.

Nice sharp record image. 1/640 is a bit risky for sunbirds in bushes, but this has come out well. In addition to being nice bird hotspots, gardens can be great places to practice for the better opportunities later in the wilderness. :)

[Saktipada Panigrahi]

Purple Sunbird (Cinnyris asiaticus). It may be a Juvenile Male. Nice photograph.
Thanks for sharing. SaktiWild

[Mrudul Godbole]

A very agile bird. I think it might have slightly moved when you clicked. Agree with Abhishek, gardens are a good place to practice photography. You get ample opportunities to try different settings and also get comfortable with your equipment :). Slight less space on the left would have strengthened the composition further. Thanks for sharing.

[Deepak Mistry]

Thanks everybody for your suggestions. I think shutter speed of 1/1000 would have been better since this species never sits still for more than 1 second.

Yes, I am getting an opportunity to come pretty close to otherwise elusive birds in the wild. However due to the dense foliage light is a challenge and also a clean background is difficult. I am currently experimenting with flash photography using a beamer. However I personally feel it is cruel on the wildlife to fire a flash on them. But they hardly seem to bother much ? Comments please.

[Mrudul Godbole]

Yes, I am getting an opportunity to come pretty close to otherwise elusive birds in the wild. However due to the dense foliage light is a challenge and also a clean background is difficult. I am currently experimenting with flash photography using a beamer. However I personally feel it is cruel on the wildlife to fire a flash on them. But they hardly seem to bother much ? Comments please.

I am not a fan of getting a clean background, because that doesn't give the real picture of the habitat of that bird/animal. So as a photographer you have to see how to try and eliminate any distracting elements and compose to show the habitat.

Also I feel it is best to not use flash, unless it is very much required in macro photography.

[Deepak Mistry]

Thanks for your insights Mridul.

[Prashant Gandhi]

Very cute little bird. I don't know its name but I like that bird! And also your shot. :001_tongue: Nice click Deepak! :thumbup:

[Sabyasachi Patra]

These birds are pretty fast. However if you observe them then there will be a time when for a moment the bird remains still and then starts moving. So if you time your shot well then you can get a sharp shot at 1/640s as well. Better shutter speed is ofcourse better at arresting subject motion.

It is important to tell a story with a photo. Simply a shot of a bird without any background won't tell us any story about why the bird is there. The flower tells us the reason. The colour as well as luminosity of the flower ensures that our eye goes to the flower. So one needs to examine the scene and see where the scene is better lit ie where the bird would be brighter. These birds tend to visit flowering bushes all the time. So once you decide which is the best spot and the best composition wait there to see if you can get that shot which you have visualised. Only those kinds of shots stand out from the crowd.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

[Deepak Mistry]

Thanks for sharing an interesting angle Sabyasachi.

[Murugan Anantharaman]

Looks like a purple sunbird female to me. The habitat is nicely captured and agree the flower does add to the story. Thanks for sharing.