NOVEMBER 2011 – Two southern yellow-billed hornbills (Tockus leucomelas) sit on a dead tree at the Kruger National Park in South Africa. One of them carries a dead spider in his beak. © Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com
The story behind the image
Off the main road that goes from north to south in the Kruger National Park there was activity. In the distance. Vultures were gathering on the trees between our location and ‘the activity’. Many of them. We decided to stop the car on the curb and tried to identify what’s going on. It was hopeless. Even with the 400 mm lens one couldn’t get close enough to see it.
Then two southern yellow-billed hornbills (Tockus leucomelas) landed on a tree that was close enough for a full frame shot. I could see that one of the birds was biting down on a spider. And a closer examination shows the reflection of the sun in the eye. What a shot!
By the way, we never figured out the reason for ‘the activity’ in the distance but I’m still glad that we stopped the car and spent the time to observe the wildlife.
The high resolution image
| Capture Date & Time | 26-NOV-2011, 17:12 |
| Location | Kruger National Park, South Africa |
| Camera | Canon EOS-1D Mark III |
| Lens | Canon EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM |
| ISO | 800 |
| Exposure | 1/6400 sec at f/5.6 |
| Digital Image Source Format | Canon Camera RAW (CR2) |
| Edited Image Format | JPEG, 24 bits/pixel, sRGB |
| Edited Image Dimensions | 3888 x 2592 Pixels |
| Copyright | © by Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com |
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