Eurasian Blackbird

[Abhishek Jamalabad]

Photographed this at Lonavla (Maharashtra) a few days back.

Also my 1st sighting of this species. This bird simply wasn't coming out into the open when the light was good. It used to spend the day in the dense foliage of the canopy, and come out and sing only after sunset . Was able to get this shot one afternoon, when the bird perched just a few feet away from the balcony.
Had to push the ISO up to 800 to get a decent shutter speed of 1/60. Tried a bit of noise reduction, but it didn't seem to help much, and I didn't want to risk losing the details. This is a full frame shot.

Some info from Salim Ali:
Turdus merula
Found throughout the subcontinent in 4 different races. (This one is race nigropileus)
Resident of well-wooded hills to 1500m elevation, wandering down into the plains during winter. Often seen in groves and jungles in the neighbourhood of towns and villages. Hops around on the ground turning over and flicking aside leaves in search of insects and fallen fruit. Also feeds in trees on drupes and flower nectar. In winter, only utters a sharp high-pitched kree-ee and throaty chuk-chuk. In the breeding season, male has a loud, rich melodious song with perfectly mimicked calls interwoven into it.

Camera Model Name Canon PowerShot SX10 IS
Shooting Mode Aperture-Priority AE
Tv (Shutter Speed) 1/60
Av (Aperture Value) 6.3
Exposure Compensation -1
ISO Speed 800
Full frame. A tiny bit of noise reduction attempted...

Thanks, C&C awaited.