Thursday, April 22, 2010

star light star bright

[Starling]

How nice it was for this European Starling/Common Starling to sit and pose in the sun for me. This was in the parking lot of a recreation center and that's why the background is so dark. That was the shadow under a parked car. From a distance these birds look black, but I think it's pretty as a peacock with its golden speckles and iridescent hues.

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The trick to get this close was (as I have done before) that I did not get out of the car. Instead, I rolled the window down and pulled up to the left curb. That is permissible when you're driving in England or in a parking lot. ;-) Don't worry; it was not busy with traffic, so no one was inconvenienced by position.

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If you look carefully, you will notice that the golden speckles are heart shaped. I apologize, but I tried and tried and could not find the other shapes. You know... diamonds, clubs and spades.

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I am told (thanks Maalie) that the light blue coloration at the base of the beak indicates that this one is male. And the female has pink in the same area. How neat!

14 comments:

imac said...

Certainly beautiful colours and a crack shot too

EG CameraGirl said...

Well done, Craver! They really are colourful when you get close up. Love your technique for sneaking closer. :)

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Craver: They are a colorful bird when you get the right light, nicely done.

DeniseinVA said...

What a beautiful shot of your starling, you've picked all the up all the colors of his feathers. Fantastic! And now I know the difference between a male and a female thanks to you and Maalie. Have a great weekend Craver.

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

Driving on the wrong side of the road is bound to get you into trouble!! LOL!! Great shot Craver.

lime said...

you really captured the iridescence magnificently! just gorgeous.

Craver Vii said...

We found a nest of starlings once, Imac. I wonder what would have happened if we tried to take one as a pet.

I'm so glad it let me get this close, EG. It's probably good that we didn't take one as a pet (a couple of years ago), but imagine the photos we might take today of this bird perched on my finger or shoulder. I think we did the right thing.

Hey Fishing Guy, did I tell you that I finally spotted a black squirrel here a couple weeks ago? It wouldn't let me get a good picture, though.

I am glad to know Maalie Denise. We are usually debating whether science and religion must necessarily be in conflict, but he and I can disagree and still be friendly.

I would not have gotten in trouble that day, Joan. But today I was tempted to trespass on private property. There is a tree at the edge of a construction site that had a buzzard, and I wanted so badly to sneak in for a closer shot. I didn't do it, but I wanted to.

While I was admiring his colors Lime, he was admiring my tie-dye. I have not forgotten my promise to post a photo of it.

Wendy said...

That's a very nice picture of this beautiful bird :) And I had no idea how to tell the difference between male and female, how interesting!

HappyK said...

Its amazing how a bird that just looks black has all those beautiful colors when in the sun.
Kind of like people - we don't see their true colors until we get close. :-)

Craver Vii said...

Merci, Leeloo! f.y.i., I checked into this information and found a site that confirmed it: http://www.starlingtalk.com/gender.htm.

Interesting observation Happyone. Yes, it is rewarding to make the effort to look deeper and find the beauty and significance of the people who we come across.

George said...

You did a wonderful job of capturing the colors of this starling. Beautifully done.

dot said...

Wow, the colors are beautiful!

Chris said...

Ouah superb pictures... You are getting nice bird shots now. Congrats it is really beautiful and I love the low angle!!

Craver Vii said...

It wasn't me George; it was the sun. This was no effort on my part at all.

Isn't it great to be past the gray winter Dot? Oh, you're from Georgia; nevermind.

I appreciate all the tips from blogging friends, Chris. I have never taken any classes, but I'm always learning. This time, the low angle was mostly due to the fact that the bird was on a little hill. I couldn't crouch down, because I took the photo from inside a minivan.