The Northern Pintail has to be one of the world’s most elegant ducks, or so it appears to me. Ideally proportioned with with that silver bill and rich brown head (with its alert black eye) set off by the tall white collar and necktie, the silver picked up again in the body behind brown and black and sliver patterned wings, and then the jet black upturned butt with jaunty white trim…I mean this is a duck that has been designed!

And the closer you get the more elegant it looks. Turns out the silver of the body Is not silver but an intricate pattern of greys that resembles finger prints.

Coming or going: elegant.

Canon SD100HS in Program with iContrast and –1/3EV exposure compensation. 1) 1600mm equivalent field of view, 1/640th @ ISO 125, f4.3 effective. 2) 2500mm equivalent, 1/320th @ ISO 100, f6.9 effective. 3) 1600mm equivalent, 1/320th @ ISO 100, f4.3 effective.

Processed in Lightroom for intensity, clarity, and sharpness.