blp shabash 430x45
Inspiring and Supporting Photographers of Australian Birds

Horsfield's Bronze-Cuckoo

Horsfield's Bronze-Cuckoo (Image ID 42876)
Photographed byJim Schultz on Sat 10th Oct, 2020 and uploaded on Tue 13th Oct, 2020 .
Resolution1800x1400
Viewed351
ID42876
CommentIn my Western Australian Region of Perth I am unaware of the species of Horsfield’s Bronze-cuckoo ‘being found in backyards’, ‘being easily seen’ and ‘posing calling on fence posts and the like’. Though I occasionally hear it, it is a bird I’ve only seen a few of times over 25 years, and only photographed once prior to this image from Wongan Hills, WA. On the contrary, I have found that the bird remains high in the tree-tops not coming down low at all, and I consider myself extremely lucky to have achieved this image, which came by quite unexpectedly albeit in an area of Red-capped Robins and thornbills, both of which species’ nests this cuckoo is known to parasitise. Not the best of images as the bird (I believe it’s a male due to the red eyes) perched 4 m up surrounded by somewhat interfering branches in a dead tree, after removal of the annoying small branches and twigs, I still find it worthy of presenting.
EquipmentNikon D850 – DX Mode
Nikkor AF-S 500mm f4G ED VR
Technique: 1.5X cropped DX sensor used = 750mm 'focal length equivalent in 35mm terms', but the trade-off is that file size cropping occurs in camera at the said factor.
Camera rig support: Gitzo GT3543XLS Tripod, Dietmar Nill gimbal tripod head
Exposure Mode: MANUAL 1/2000 sec at f6.3; ISO-400. Metering Mode: Spot; Focus Mode: AF-C high/5 frames per sec & AF Area Mode: Dynamic, 9 points. VR: Off
Nikon ViewNX-i for viewing and selecting files; Adobe Photoshop Camera Raw/CC 2020 for resizing image, cropping to 158%, selective sharpening, removal of branches and twigs by means of the ‘Lasso Tool’ as well as general post-processing; Topaz Pro plug-in DeNoise for mild blanket sharpening and moderate noise control. ‘Australian Bird Guide 2019’ for supplementary data and colour checks
LocationGathercole Nature Reserve, Wongan Hills, Western Australia
Keywordsmale, adult
You already have an outstanding request to download this image for non-commercial purposes. You may cancel this request by clicking on the button below and waiting for confirmation that your request has been noted. When you have selected all the images that you require, go to 'My Download Requests' (under Photo Gallery) and submit your request by clicking 'Edit/Submit' and filling out the details. You will be advised of the result by email. Note that cookies MUST be enabled for this to work.
You may request download of this image for non-commercial purposes. A request that meets the usage rights of this image will be automatically approved; a request that does not meet the usage rights will be refused, but may (at the Download Manager's discretion) be referred to the photographer. The usage rights of this image are: Any non-commercial educational or conservation use by any requestor, excluding personal use. For further details of image usage rights, see here. Request the image by clicking on the button below and waiting for confirmation that your request has been noted. When you have selected all the images that you require, go to 'My Download Requests' (under Photo Gallery) and submit your request by clicking 'Edit/Submit' and filling out the details. You will be advised of the result by email. Note that cookies MUST be enabled for this to work.
Previous19373/31429 in Main LibraryNext
Previous65/151 by Jim SchultzNext
Previous38/70 of Horsfield's Bronze-CuckooNext
Previous263/421 of CuckoosNext
Previous20033/34073 OverallNext
Use the arrows at the left and Right hand side of this page to display the Next/Previous photographs in that group, or click on one of the blue links above to start a slide show in that group (group slide shows are only allowed if there are less than 1000 images in the group).

CONTACT US

The easiest way to contact us is by emailing us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Our People page, in the About Us section, contains email links to each of the committee members.