Daily Archives: December 18, 2022

Uganda Edition: Black Bee-eater

Black Bee-eater: Neck (Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park), Uganda, August 2022 — Another not great shot of a good bird. This is an immature (coming into adult plumage) Black Bee-eater from the Neck forest between Ishasha and Bwindi. Though it is a forest bird across most of Sub-Sahara Africa, it is found in East Africa only in the narrow band of volcanic highlands along the western border of Uganda. This bird as wee and far, as they say, so this is a heavy crop…and being silhouetted against the sky did not help. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro on the Mac Air. ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/500th. Plus 2.7EV.

Bananaquit

Bananaquit: Las Tardes Community Ecology Project, Corcovado National Park, Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica, December 2022 — The Bananaquit has long complicated story. It was placed with the new world warblers, or the sparrows (buntings), or maybe in a genus of its own…before genetic profiling put it with the tanagers, in the same sub-family as Darwin’s Finches. It is a wide-spread bird all through Central and South America and the Caribbean, occasionally reaching extreme South-Florida in the US. It has an unusual amount of variation over its range, with island birds in particular, being quite different looking than those found on the continents. It has 41 (41!) recognized sub-species, at least a few of which are already on track to be split into species of their own. So, no, not a simple bird, though common all through the American tropics. It eats nectar and fruit and can be seen around dwelling with gardens. It will come to bananas at feeders. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 800 @ f4 @ 1/500th.