Screech by inshaala
Close
Hover over top left image to zoom.
Click anywhere to exit.
Members remain the original copyright holder in all their materials here at Renderosity. Use of any of their material inconsistent with the terms and conditions set forth is prohibited and is considered an infringement of the copyrights of the respective holders unless specially stated otherwise.
Description
A Red Kite screeching just before digging into some not-so-fresh dead chick ;)
From Wikipedia:
The Red Kite is 60�66 cm long with a 175�195 cm wingspan; males have a weight of 800�1200 g, and females 1000�1300 g. It is an elegant bird, soaring with long wings held at a dihedral, and long forked tail twisting as it changes direction. The body, upper tail and wing coverts are rufous. The white primary flight feathers contrast with the black wing tips and dark secondaries. Apart from the weight difference, the sexes are similar, but juveniles have a buff breast and belly. The call is a thin piping, similar to but less mewling than Common Buzzard.
The species nests in trees, often close to other kites; in winter, many kites will roost together. In the spring the nests are obvious at the tops of trees. From a distance they look like rookeries, including the swirling pattern of the birds. Closer to one can see that the birds aren't rooks but kites because of the more slender wings.
At signs of danger a mother will signal the young who will "play dead" to the extent that a fox will believe them to be dead and leave them, thinking it can return to eat them later.
In the Middle Ages, Red Kites were much more widespread, their scavenging habits making them the refuse collectors of the day, but their numbers have much decreased through illegal persecution and poisoning. Rumours spread amongst the farming community that they were capable of killing sheep, as they were often found scavenging off animal carcasses. In reality, they will only take small live prey as well as carrion, and will rob other birds. Their scavenging nature makes them particularly vulnerable to accidental or deliberate illegal poisoning, where they scavenge the carcass of an animal that has been poisoned, and succumb to the poison themselves.
According to a report by the Welsh Kite Trust, the UK is the only country in which the Red Kite population is increasing. Red Kites are decreasing in their three strongholds of Spain, France and Germany, and population increases have stagnated in Sweden and Switzerland.
Went to the National Bird of Prey Centre near Gloucestershire with Danny today and got a few nice shots of these magnificent birds (not just Kites...). So i expect i'll be uploading a few "Raptor" shots over the next few days.
Thanks for stopping by and taking a look.
Enjoy!
Rich
Comments (32)
danob
There is a limited opportunity to grab these in the moment shots you took to it like a duck to water.. Thanks for the company mate great job..
mnof
Impecable!
Nameless_Wildness
Seems a bit noisy?...prob due to the heavy crop?
tommorules
Strong compo - I notice you got the eye almost on the "two thirds, two thirds" x,y - which is very appealing. Green background looks quite noisy on my monitor which is an easy fix. Hope Danny & yourself had fun!
inshaala
No - High ISO and crap light actually - forcing underexposure and recovery in RAW - crop was about a half in MP terms so doesnt play much of a part in it. It is recoverable even further if i would bother to selectively de-noise it, but i couldnt be bothered ;) Thanks for being frank about it tho :)
CDBrugg
v nice - love the eyes!
RobyHermida
Gorgeous capture!!!!!!!!!!!!
NightGallery
That shot is badass! Damn what clarity, so sharp. And a great expression. Super capture here man, look forward to more!!
viper
Rich, that is a stunning capture so sharp and clear I think I can count feathers if I want to.
smillinfaces
nothin to say only great greetz smillinfaces
BorisB
Excellent work!!
MrsLubner
An awesome shot. There is so much movement and personality in this shot. Great placement and background as well.
TomDart
Wonderful timing and detail. Thanks, Rich.
lilbiscuit
Wow!! Excellent shot!!
722
awsome pic
Cosine
Most excellent shot, Rich. Thanks for the info, too.
krakosky
great dof, a lot of details, superb shot.
CavalierLady
Exquisite! My hat's off to you!
Maska
Nice capture ;-)
mps
I hope he enjoyed his dinner. Great shot.
mark.spooner
A beautiful close-up, great composition and detail.
JaneEden
Well done - hugs Jane xx
inaani
wunderschön - 5 Federn wonderful, 5 feathers
jedink
Like the detail.
Valerie-Ducom
Really impressiv ! :)
alphalioness
Impressive shot! He looks ticked ;D
Sans2012
Crystal clear focus - captured all the details very nicely. Very nice work mate:)
Gise
powerful capture. bravo!
BibbyBear
In a word "WOW" - this is an amazing in-the-moment capture and you nailed it for clarity and composition. This should be on a poster somewhere Rich - perhaps you ought to contact the Bird of Prey Centre and offer to sell it to them??!! The details in the feathers are stunning. Excellent!! xx
kimariehere
incredibly amazing and gorgeous perfectly captured!!!!