Blue-naped Parrot

This medium-sized parrot (12-1/2 inches total length) is found in all major Philippine islands, but it's now becoming rarer due to habitat loss and poaching pressure. It can still be seen in good numbers at Subic rainforest, where this photograph was captured, as well as in Palawan island.

 

I chanced upon this individual while it was feeding at a guava tree near a road at Subic. Using my vehicle as a blind, I was able to get reasonably close to the subject. The frame-filling capture has so much detail, even if the EOS 40D's resolution is considered modest by current standards. I was able to blow up the 10 MP RAW file to a 24" x 36" print for an exhibit, with excellent feather detail even when viewed up close.

 

Interestingly, this same photograph appeared on the front page of the Philippine Daily Inquirer as a comparative image to the illustration used in the new Philippine 500 peso bill.

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Blue-naped Parrot (Tanygnathus lucionensis, a near Philippine endemic)

Habitat – Uncommon in forest and edge.

Shooting Info - Subic rainforest, Bataan, Philippines, December 5, 2007, Canon 40D + 500 f4 L IS + Canon 1.4x II, 700 mm, ISO 400, 1/125 sec, f/7.1, manual exposure in available light, bean bag.