<< Previous Next >>

Brahminy!


Brahminy!
Photo Information
Copyright: Kiran K V (sunkirana) Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 137 W: 29 N: 199] (1143)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2007-11-09
Categories: Birds
Camera: Sony Alpha 100, Sony 75-300mm f/4.5-5.6 Telephoto Zoom
Exposure: f/6.3, 1/1250 seconds
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version
Theme(s): Birds In Flight Part Two, Gems from India part 2 [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2007-11-16 11:41
Viewed: 4754
Favorites: 2 [view]
Points: 52
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
This is another picture taken near Kanva Dam. My friends tell me this is a Pariah kite. Personally I feel this looks more like an eagle - Tawny Eagle perhaps? A little help needed here in identifying this birdy.Thanking you in advance.:-)

I agree with you Loot :-). A note to help fellow enthusiasts back here in Bangalore and my friends elsewhere who are keen to know about the conditions, time and place in which the picture was taken IS needed.

For those interested in catching a bird in flight, Kanva Dam is the spot. One would find hordes of kites and Eagles flying all around. Some grazing past your head on their way to snatch a fish out of the river. At around 4 in the afternoon, you would find the sun just getting tired, shining but not harsh. The birds will be out in their best colours. Yes, there is a catch though - "There should be some fisher folk around". Sunday is NOT a good day as you will find tourists thronging in hordes and no fishing, that keeps the birds away. Come anytime but the weekends and you can be sure to go back with some fantastic pictures of "Birds in flight".

Now about the picture proper : This kite was making the turn quite close to the water, giving me a great opportunity to catch its entire body. This made us to be almost in the same plane.

I want to thank you all for the encouraging comments and critiques. Thank you :-).

After much discussion between, Adrian, Arun(My trek mate that day), Nigel, Steve, Howard and Dayanand(My other trek mate who introduced us to the site) it can be concluded that this is an immature "Brahminy kite". Thank you all for the time - well spent :-).My regards.
gerbilratz, mecamich, MMM, JoseMiguel, loot, Merlin, ramthakur has marked this note useful
Only registered TrekNature members may rate photo notes.
Add Critique [Critiquing Guidelines] 
Only registered TrekNature members may write critiques.
Discussions
ThreadThread Starter Messages Updated
To cuckooroller: A true professionalloot 2 11-22 02:42
To loot: No, Thanks to YOU :-)sunkirana 1 11-21 09:34
To arunk: Brahminy Kitecuckooroller 1 11-17 08:18
To aido: Yellow Lips - Treknaturecuckooroller 2 11-16 13:03
To nglen: Hisunkirana 1 11-16 11:50
To claudine: Have a GREAT weekend!sunkirana 1 11-16 11:48
You must be logged in to start a discussion.

Critiques [Translate]

Hello Kiran,
Were you on a plane when you caught this wonderful picture :)? This is an impressive POV and beautiful capture. I'm sorry, I can't help with ID but I know that this is superb! Thanks and have a good weekend!
Claudine

  • Great 
  • nglen Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2883 W: 30 N: 9683] (36145)
  • [2007-11-16 11:47]
  • [+]

Hello Kiran. This is a very good inflight shot of this beautiful bird. you have captured fine detail in the feather. with rich but natural colours. shows up so well against the BG. well done TFS.
Nick..

have a good weekend.

Hello Kiran,
I like the natural light. Great colours.
Very good composition.
TFS
Annick

Hi Kiran,le moment est bien choisi,le bg est bon,de belle couleurs et détails.Bravo,bon travail.
Best regards
Mich

  • Great 
  • MMM Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1114 W: 0 N: 2546] (11425)
  • [2007-11-16 12:36]

Hello Kiran
What a beautiful in flight capture.Beautiful light and very sharp image.Details and colors are excellent.
TFS Michel

Kiran, This is a glorious shot. The lighting on the wings is magnificent. The position of the bird with fully stretched wing span looks fantastic.
- Murali Santhanam

  • Great 
  • aido Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor [C: 1044 W: 156 N: 1218] (4046)
  • [2007-11-16 12:43]
  • [+]

Hi Kiran,
Wonderful capture, beautiful detail and tonal contrasts caught in the wings. Great colours and light too, wonderful. I agree with cuckooroller, it looks like a Tawny Eagle (Aquila rapax), however every Tawny Eagle I've seen has a yellow mouth or lips (sorry, don't know the technical term). So this one leaves me a little confused. It's a wonderful capture though, congratulations :-)
Regards,
Adrian

Hi Kiran,
Amazing capture in flight!
It's so hard to find a POV from above when shooting birds in flight, but in this case you did it in such a great way.
I like the absolute clear and sharp details got on the wing's plumage.
DOF worked great to isolate the bird.
Congratulations and thanks for share it.
My best regards,
JM

Hi Kiran,

WOW! Perfect! Extraordinary flight shot, very good details and colors

Compliments!

Gio

  • Great 
  • NinaM Gold Star Critiquer [C: 773 W: 3 N: 1157] (4077)
  • [2007-11-16 13:26]

Hi Kiran, I don't know the bird but what a picture! The feathers look like velvet, I really like the way you captured it. Great POV, great composition, the movement is graceful, everything is great. TFS,

Francine

Perfect moment, perfect quality.
Hi Kiran, this shot is excellent, the bird is so majestic, thanks
Sabine - wishnugaruda

hi kiran,
excellent capture. very good pov, dof and details. tfs.
manoj

Kiran

Very nice shot, great details on the bird. The background is nice as well.

Alfredo

hello kiran,
this is excellent work, you have captured this bird in glight beautifully, sharp image, nice dof, lovely colours, liked the composition too,
well done,
tfs & regards
pankaj

Hello Kiran,
Incredibly beautiful image!
The POV and feather detail/color is wonderful.
Composition top notch.
Way to GO!
Taking for my favorites. TFS
Richard

Hello Kiran,
What a wonderful shot of this eagle from you!!
Amazing pose of this fella you've captured, with excellent details and focusing.
Also, excellent composition & POV here!
Very well done and TFS,
Best wishes,
Kevin
Have a great weekend!

  • Good 
  • arunk Silver Star Critiquer/Silver Note Writer [C: 26 W: 0 N: 19] (272)
  • [2007-11-17 3:48]
  • [+]

Hi

Kiran

Very well captured ! looks amazing, but this bird is Brahminy kite female bird.


Regards
Arun krishnaiah

  • Great 
  • anel Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 3053 W: 3 N: 8715] (40574)
  • [2007-11-17 5:27]

Hello Kiran,
Superb picture! You had an excellent point of view and caught the bird in a very photogenic position. Beautiful different browns of the feathers and a very nice backgroung. Bravo
Anne

Arun is correct - this is a Brahminy Kite Haliastur indus. It's identification is made more tricky by the fact that it's an immature bird, very different in colour from the adult. However, there is no doubt about the ID. Nice photograph, sharp and nicely lit.
Regards, Nigel

That is a beautiful, beautiful shot. The light coming from the upper left really outlines the trailing edge of the feathers. Spectacular. I wish I had been there to see that.

Hi Kiran,
Your friends need to get some glasses! Obviously not Milvus - tail too short, and rounded. Trailing wing contour all wrong. Beak too long and strong. The total body conformation - wing profiles, tail profile and length, bill conformation is consistent only with Aquila sp. There are only two that range near Bangalore: Aquila hastata; and Aquila rapax. I will give you a hint - this is not hastata.

EDIT: Well, once in a while I will blow an ID. I am convinced that Arun and Nigel have seen the truth of this bird, and I have not. So, I agree that this is not rapax, but rather an immature Brahminy Kite. I am leaving my initial assessment, as I do all of my screw-ups, so that others can learn from it.

Good job Arun and Nigel!

Fabulous bird...A kite has a forked tail...I think this could be Aquila rapax...Tawny or Steppe Eagle.
Their can be confusion over racial variations of this species, and the Eurasian forms of the group. Aquila r orientalis, and nipalensis. But general consensus is that they are conspecific with Aquila rapax....These eagles are also "booted" where feather cover the tarsi.Fabulous image though...and a great piece of work.

Been looking through my books on Eagles, Hawks, Falcons etc,and their is a bit concerning the Brahminy Kite where it has "pale patches at base of primary feathers", so (immature) Brahminy Kite )then!!!.
(ref to Leslie Brown/Dean Amadon)

Hi Kiran
wonderfull shot It is Pariah Kite its difficult to say male or female since both resemble alike Keep it up Concentrate on getting good pictures like this

  • Great 
  • loot Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 5524 W: 722 N: 4163] (11276)
  • [2007-11-21 3:58]
  • [2] [+]

Hi Kiran

Wow, a truly magnificent capture of this kite. Sure it is a slight pity that the head is somewhat shady, but IMHO that does not really distract any merits from the shot. The POF is superb and I can fully understand why some critiquers pondered the thought that you might have been in flight yourself when capturing the shot.

The combination of sharp details, amazing BG, splendid colours, and spot-on DOF all adds to the excellence of the posting.

Great work and TFS.
Regards
Loot

PS. If I may raise just one small point of positive criticism though I would prompt you to expand a bit on your notes. I know you can, because I've seen it in some of your previous postings. It would have been great if you expanded just a wee bit on the photo, i.e. conditions, location, or how did you manage to capture this brilliant shot, etc.

PS Update. Thanks Kiran. I appreciate the updated notes and the useful information you shared with us. Great stuff my friend and thanks for accepting my criticism in such positive spirit.

I noticed your marvellous picture while looking at Pankaj's theme: Gems from India, Kiran.
I also went through most of the controversy on the ID of the bird and Loot's critique on the picture. Your expanded note does full justice to his query.
Well done.

I must say that this is the only picture from India that stands as class apart in the genre of birds in flight. The point of view is god-sent; it does intensify the feeling as if you were "flying" in tandem with the subject.
A truly fantastic nature picture.
TFS and regards,
Ram

  • Great 
  • darwin Gold Star Critiquer [C: 259 W: 0 N: 403] (1401)
  • [2008-02-10 19:14]

Hi Kiran
Beautiful shot
tfs jon

great capture, TFS Ori

Calibration Check
















0123456789ABCDEF