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Cedar Waxwing (7 drops)


Posted by Ken Newcombe on Mon Oct 13, 2003 10:27 am

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Image

This Waxwing posed long enough for a few frames after flying frantically over a mud flat catching insects on the wing along with several others. Their behaviour resembled tree swallows. This one had 7 "wax drops" per wing, most have much less. Would have prefered a bit more head turn.

10D
500 f4.5 x1.4
1/125 sec, f/8.0
Exp comp: -1/2 BB
ISO: 200
AF mode: Manual Focus

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by Penney Goodwin on Mon Oct 13, 2003 10:51 am
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Beautiful! I would be interested in hearing what the "drops" mean.
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by E.J. Peiker on Mon Oct 13, 2003 11:53 am
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Those red wingtips are awesome!
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by Bill Whala on Mon Oct 13, 2003 12:11 pm
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Excellent job showing the drops. I had no idea about them. Very nice shot!!
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by Sandy Mossberg on Mon Oct 13, 2003 12:16 pm
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Very well done, Ken. The drops are interesting.
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by Alan Murphy on Mon Oct 13, 2003 12:18 pm
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Ken, Sweet shot. Like you, I too wished he had turned his head a bit. I would crop a little off the right. Great BG.
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by Harvey Edelman on Mon Oct 13, 2003 1:18 pm
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The drops are outstanding. I'm not sure I've ever seen them before.
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by LHays on Mon Oct 13, 2003 3:07 pm
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A beautiful shot of one of my favorite birds. I spent more time than I care to mention getting just one good shot of them. Here you have beautiful colors to compliment the bird. I went back and counted the wax tips on the one I had.....he only had 5. Very interesting about the numbers.
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by Neil Solomon on Mon Oct 13, 2003 5:47 pm
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Beautiful image. This bird is high on my list to see and photograph. More so after seeing this image.
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by Ken Newcombe on Mon Oct 13, 2003 6:10 pm
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Laurel wrote:Beautiful! I would be interested in hearing what the "drops" mean.
According to "the Sibley Guide to Bird life..." :
The Waxwing family are the only birds with the waxy droplets. The droplets are from carteniod pigment found in the birds fruit diet and form on the secondary flight feathers. Immature have no droplets and as each molt occurs another droplet appears at least for the first few years.
 

by Sheri Whala on Mon Oct 13, 2003 6:45 pm
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This is very cool! The wax drops are awesome!
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by KK Hui on Mon Oct 13, 2003 7:37 pm
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Excellent shot, Ken! :lol:
I like the drop story ... very educational for me! Thanks.
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by Jill on Mon Oct 13, 2003 11:07 pm
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Fabulous image, Ken. I've never seen so many drops!! The function of these waxy droplets is unknown (Austin, 1961), but they sure are decorative. Before printing, I'd clone the piece of leaf near its neck and possibly the ratty one at LR that touches the tail. The foliage would then form a curve for this picture perfect bird!!
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by ajhand on Tue Oct 14, 2003 5:53 am
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Nice one Ken. I have a few nice waxwing shots but I never get a view of the drops.
Way back when I was a kid, our family cat caught one of these at our place up in Canada. 40 years later, the wing is still on our mantel. The wax drops are just like pressed sealing wax: Thin, hard and shiny.

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by Wil Hershberger on Tue Oct 14, 2003 11:40 am
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Terrific angle for showing off the wings. As you said, a bit more head turn would have taken this over the top.
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by Mike Wilson on Tue Oct 14, 2003 12:31 pm
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Beautiful shot. I would only think it better if its head was turned but this is so good that I don't mind the look away.
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by Anthony Medici on Wed Oct 15, 2003 4:51 pm
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Really nice detail. I agree with wanting the head turned a bit more but this is still stunning.
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by Greg Downing on Wed Oct 15, 2003 7:06 pm
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Very sweet and an educational post.
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