Whio weren't the only birds we encountered. At Leon Kinvig hut late on the Sunday afternoon a pair of titipounamu (the rifleman; Acanthisitta chloris) flitted about in the shrubbery. The autofocus on the Panasonic 100–300 was apparently designed for photographing sloths and that, coupled with the low light among the foliage, meant the likelihood of a reasonable photograph was somewhat less than that of the US enacting sensible gun laws.
I guess I got lucky, so maybe there's hope for those who'd rather not see an assault rifle with a 50-round magazine in every US home.
[6 January 2013, Panasonic Lumix GH1, 100–300 mm at 223 mm, ISO 400, 1/40 at f5.6]
All content © 2012 Pete McGregor
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8 comments:
Wonderful photograph of such a little character - and always nice to see a sloth!
The luck of the prepared. He's a lovely wistful wee creature.
Since it's winter here, and the trees are barren, I'm enjoying the bird sightings lately - a red-bellied woodpecker the other day. As regards the other issue, never give up before the miracle.
RR, thank you, and I looked for sloths in the Amazon, hoping for a photograph for you, but no luck.
Zhoen, they're delightful birds. Actually, this one's the female; just after this photograph, she whizzed over my head so close I almost flinched. Great characters.
Barbara, I love woodpeckers! We have none here in Aotearoa; I saw them most recently in Patagonia in late 2011 — the spectacular Magellanic woodpecker. As for the other issue, I'm not anti-gun but I'm astounded that anyone should consider it an important right to be able to own an assault rifle with a large-capacity magazine.
Hola Pete, what a treat to see a titpounamu up close. They sure flitted about and I can imagine how difficult it was to capture this image. I much prefer the Maori name for this lovely passerine. -Maureen
Maureen, I'm glad you got to see these. They're easily overlooked yet delightful to watch as they flit about, constantly on the move. I'm with you on the name, too :^)
Lovely photo, Pete. I too prefer to call them titipounamu - the Maori name is usually far more resonant than the English. Do you know why they are called the rifleman?
Thanks Anne-Marie. The usual explanation for the English name is that the male's plumage apparently resembled some regimental (military) uniform. The NZ Birds web page offers an additional explanation: the spiralling pattern of a foraging bird on the trunk of a tree is reminiscent of the rifling of a gun barrel.
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