White Bellied Shortwing (Brachypteryx major)

23 March 2008

Munnar, Kerala, India

Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS and 1.4xII on Canon 1D Mark III
ISO 800, 1/15 @ f5.6 Evaluative Metering at Zero Stop

One of the “must photograph” birds on my list was the white bellied shortwing. Eldhose helped me to locate the bird. It was in the shoals and not coming out. After trying for some time, we went back to a flowering tree where more birds were present. After a while we heard the call of the white bellied shortwing and went back to the same location where we had seen it. This time I could see it in the open. But before I could approach it, it disappeared. I cursed myself for not taking a record shot of it in the open. I waited in front of that open perch for a while. Suddenly out of nowhere it flew in and sat right in front of me at minimum focusing distance for my 500mm + 1.4x converter. I immediately started clicking. Since it was there for a long time, I managed to get some nice photographs. There were no bounds to my joy after photographing it. Later that night I previewed the images at the hotel and knew I had my catch of the day.