30 December 2014

Rifleman near Leon Kinvig hut, Ruahine Range

On the way down the track from the Ngamoko Range and only about quarter of an hour from the river, I came across what I'm sure was a family of titipounamu (Acanthisitta chloris; rifleman), Aotearoa's smallest bird, foraging in a small red beech. Trying to photograph them was an exercise in frustration, but I eventually managed this, a photograph of what I think is the juvenile. These tiny birds never fail to delight me.



All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

4 comments:

gz said...

Such small beautiful birds...such big feet!

Zhoen said...

I remember loving your photos of these little guys. Such wonderful feet they have for perching with.

Barbara Butler McCoy said...

How funny that I, too, took special notice of this tiny one's feet! This is stunning. While I get a 'zen' feel from the shades of green and the sky, I still feel the little one's energy. There's a bit of personality, too, in that eye and the tilt of the head. Your frustration was well rewarded I would say ;0 Happy New Year!

pohanginapete said...

gz,I hadn't noticed the size of their feet until I looked at this photograph. Our rock wrens, which are closely related (and much rarer) also have relatively enormous feet.

Zhoen, thank you. I love these little birds and have been fortunate to have seen them often.

Barbara, thank you, and I'm glad the energy comes through in the photograph.

Happy New Year, everyone!