ANDEAN CONDOR

More info here http://birdsflight.com/andean-condor-facts-andean-condor-habitat-diet/

The Andean condor (Vultur gryphus) is a South American bird in the New World vulture family Cathartidae and is the only member of the genus Vultur. Found in the Andes mountains and adjacent Pacific coasts of western South America, the Andean condor is the largest flying bird in the world by combined measurement of weight and wingspan. It has a maximum wingspan of 10 ft 10 in) exceeded only by the wingspans of four seabirds and water birds—the roughly 11 ft 6 in maximum of the wandering albatross, southern royal albatross, great white pelican and Dalmatian pelican.

 

It is a large black vulture with a ruff of white feathers surrounding the base of the neck and, especially in the male, large white patches on the wings. The head and neck are nearly featherless, and are a dull red color, which may flush and therefore change color in response to the bird's emotional state. In the male, there is a wattle on the neck and a large, dark red comb or caruncle on the crown of the head. Unlike most birds of prey, the male is larger than the female.

 

The condor is primarily a scavenger, feeding on carrion. It prefers large carcasses, such as those of deer or cattle. It reaches sexual maturity at five or six years of age and nests at elevations of up to 16,000 ft, generally on inaccessible rock ledges. One or two eggs are usually laid. It is one of the world's longest-living birds, with a lifespan of over 70 years in some cases.

Ciao Tony, Complimenti per lo .stupendo ritratto! !

Wonderful portrait Tony, of this colorful condor with amazing details & pose. Take care,..............Patsy

Imperial and warrior bird ...I think rarely you can see and capture such a bird . Congratulations for this shot !

Regards !

Nicely done!

Amazing clarity. Great portrait.

100 years?! -- I'd get one for a pet, but it might eat me up... :) What is the glass you used. Looks deliciously sharp...

This fella is down right regal Tony. Great details and color. Fine capture..............BR, Holger

Thank you for all of your visits and kind words. I am pretty sure I used the Nikkor 70-300mm and I may have to look it up but with this type of subject I would use f8 or wider and I avoid going over 200mm as the performance lens starts degrading. When I see the result of doing a landscape image over 200mm, I don't like it and especially with the edges. Without breaking the bank, can anyone make a suggestion for replacing this lens on a full-frame D810 for landscape images?

Without 'breaking the bank' a seamless digitally stitched panorama of say 5-6 vertical images with a 36mp camera and your zoom will be quite good at moderate enlargement if you crop out the top and bottom (effectively eliminating the 'corners'). Otherwise fixed apo lenses are hot, and some medium format Zeiss glass is easily fitted to Nikon F mount with adopters for manual shoots, which panoramas typically are anyways... (I just ordered a Chinese adopter for an Olympic sonar f4 to Nikon -- only $14)...