Near Passerine Photos

Rainbow Bee-Eaters

Photograph by Jenny Hall
A beautiful pair of rainbow bee-eaters; this shot was taken in my backyard in the top end of Australia's Northern Territory. The male is the one with the longer center tail feather.

Kea

Photograph by Tzachy Rachamim
During our trip to New Zealand, we went to the Mueller hut, an alpine hut that overlooks Cook Mountain, the highest mountain in New Zealand. While going uphill to get a better view, four keas (mountain parrots) flew above us and landed right next to us in order to investigate what we were doing. (This is a very curious bird.) This is one of the keas landing next to us.

Macaws

Photograph by Kraig Darnell
A lucky shot at the San Diego Zoo

Pigeons

Photograph by Ky Lu
When I visited the famous Ge Er Temple in Qinghai Province, China, I saw some pigeons flying over the stupas and some lifting and some landing. Taking the moment, I took this one.

Pigeons Scattering

Photograph by Animesh Hazra
Wings of freedom at Mecca Masjid, Hyderabad

Northern Flickers

Photograph by Mike Paterson
One of a series of shots displaying the mating ritual of a pair of northern flickers

Pileated Woodpecker

Photograph by Edward Mattis
Pileated woodpecker over Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge

Blue-Tailed Bee-Eater

Photograph by Yangchen Lin
A blue-tailed bee-eater bursts through the surface in an exuberant spray of water, its wings beating at full thrust to regain cruising altitude. Tropical birds like bee-eaters, swallows, and swifts take frequent dives to clean and cool themselves in the warm climate. But this maneuver is more risky than it seems; the birds must maintain sufficient momentum throughout submergence to become airborne again and avoid drowning.

Kingfisher

Photograph by Torben Andersen
One morning in September, the kingfisher arrived on the branch with a fresh fish. The kingfisher smashed the fish against the branch at high speed to kill it. After the kill, the fish was eaten and the kingfisher left for another one. Shot in a local lake in Denmark.

Kingfisher Flying

Photograph by Torben Andersen
One early morning in August, the kingfisher I spotted left the tree and went up in the air over the lake, looking over the lake for a fish. This time with the front toward the sun and me, I took my shots. This is one of them.

Yellow-Billed Hornbill

Photograph by Karl Daniels
Yellow-billed hornbill from Kruger National Park in South Africa. I had a fun-filled week with shots of African buffalo, elephant, and cheetah.

Cuckoo

Photograph by Chuck Koenecke
I had tried without success to get close enough for a good shot of this beautiful cuckoo and was just switching to a longer lens when suddenly he flew right into my lap! Luckily, I didn't fall over and was able to snap this quick shot before he flew off.

Indian Ringneck Parrot

Photograph by Mikaela Fox
This is a shot taken on my patio of my male Indian ringneck parrot, Baby.

Nuttall’s Woodpecker

Photograph by Iryna Dronova
The woodpeckers apparently broaden their menu from insects that actually live in the wood to delicious offerings of the fruit trees. This seems to be a female Nuttall's woodpecker (Picoides nuttallii) feeding on a ripe pear. The photo was taken in Oakland, California, in November 2009.