Watch the birdie
Picture of the Day ( 58 )
A nightingale is perched on the branch of a plum tree in a park near Shin-Yurigaoka Station in Kawasaki.
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58 Comments
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0
Tessa
Wow, what a great pic! Really put a smile on my face.
0
dejaboo
That's a brown-eared bulbul.
0
smartacus
Beautiful shot Marven
0
Sarge
That bird's not admiring the plum blossoms, it's just looking for food.
0
some14some
Bibiru bulbul (fearful) !
0
pamelot
Those are not plum blossoms... They are cherry blossoms!
0
Sarge
pamelot - Nope, they be plum blossoms. Gotta wait a few more weeks for the cherry blossoms.
0
pamelot
They are not plum blossoms. Wait or not, those are cherries.
0
nikoniko78
This is a ヒヨドリ.
0
KyokoSmile
Beautiful!
0
TokyoGas
Nice picture!
0
imacat
It must be there to renew its visa.
0
burikko
nikoniko78 is right. It's Hiyodori, scientific name Hypsipetes amaurotis. Recently they breed in urban area.
0
noirgaijin
In other words, Brown-eared Bulbul!
0
tokyochris
Was this pic taken last year? Seems a bit early for this??
0
kazan
The suddenly warm weather in places is causing trees to bloom way early, then the blossoms die when the weather cools back down. This might be the case here.
0
GW
yes a bulbul originally from NAmerica like the bullfrogs & crayfish, these tweetys always munch the sliced mikan I put in my yard for the meijiro & other nicer tweety`s knocking them off the tree where my dog happily eats the mikan LOL!!
0
BORIS_CHANG_LUIGI
Sttebn wrote: "It is early for cherry to blossom: maybe this is not a recent pic."
Not everyone lives near Steen and cherry blossoms do not blossom at the same time all over Japan or the World. I saw them earlier this year in OKINAWA - in February.
0
BORIS_CHANG_LUIGI
tokyocris wrote: "Was this pic taken last year? Seems a bit early for this??"
No. It could have been taken this year, SOUTH of Tokyo. Or do you assume that where you live is the DEFACTO standard for cherry blossom season?
Wake up people - it's a big world out there!
0
DarkKnightNine
The picture was taken last Sunday February 28th at 3:41PM during a professional photo shoot in the above mentioned park with a Canon EOS 7D / EF 70 - 300mm DO IS USM Lens zoomed all the way in to 300mm at ISO 100 / Shutter 1/250 at f5.6. Don't know what blossoms they are but was told by Japanese friends who know that they were Plum Blossoms and that the bird was a "Uguisu". There just enough time to change to the aforementioned telephoto lens and catch the bird before it flew off.
0
DarkKnightNine
I think arguing about what the blossoms are and what the bird is kind of misses the point of the picture. I only provided the details about the day it was taken so at the very least, that point can be taken out of the equation. Please enjoy the picture. Thanks, the photographer.
0
burikko
Everyone comments about Someiyoshino as sakura. Not all sakura is Somei Yoshino, a hybrid species. Some other species blooms earlier than them. (For example Kawazuzakura is full bloom now. But this is not Kawazuzakura.)
Edohigan which blooms in middle March every year has bloomed earlier than usual?
By the way hiyodoris aka ... are in mating season. They are screaming in parks in towns. Noisy.
0
kinniku
They are plum blossoms. It says so in the caption. The timing is pretty spot on for plum tree blossoms.
It is a nice photo, BTW. Feels like spring!
0
GW
DK9
Decent pic, definitely not an uguisu! They are much smaller & taking the bulbul pic wud be much much easier than getting an uguisu as they a tiny constantly move & like thick cover so you cud try all winter & be lucky to get a few decent shots
for those interested here is one
http://qpon.quu.cc/tori/uguisu1.htm
0
BORIS_CHANG_LUIGI
Centuries ago plum blossoms were the BIG DEAL in blossom viewing in Japan until some Shogun decided that he liked cherry blossoms better. The entire country folowed his lead and now no one bothers to look at the poor, neglected plum tree. So sad!
0
burikko
"Ume ni Uguisu"? HAHAHA...
It's the design of Hanafuda(flower card), Japanese playing card. Uguisu, is yellowish green bird. http://www.k3.dion.ne.jp/~toritosi/meji11.jpg
0
AzabuSamurai
I wonder if there is a construction site right behind the tree.
0
DarkKnightNine
Only know what I was told. I'm not a nature photographer by trade and I appreciate the correction. I'm really not sure what kind of bird it is, I just know it was beautiful.
0
kokorocloud
Beautiful!
0
Seiharinokaze
It's Kanzakura, a kind of sakura. Not a plum. http://www5b.biglobe.ne.jp/~s_mori/winter/kanzakura.htm
And the bird is a brow eared bulbul as other posters pointed out. But nightingale sounds nice.
0
sirgamble
"Not everyone lives near Steen and cherry blossoms do not blossom at the same time all over Japan or the World. I saw them earlier this year in OKINAWA - in February."
That and aaaaah... it's a plum blossom...
0
HonestDictator
Thats a gorgeous pic. NICE
0
momonoki
What a beautiful color!really nice pic. it makes me feel the coming of spring.
0
CaptainAwesome
Wow.... there's a lot of know-it-alls on here today.
Beautiful pic photographer, no matter what bldy bird it is or what bldy tree.
0
CaptainAwesome
My bad... didn't mean to make that part bold... It should say 'what bl#$dy bird it is or what bl#$dy tree.'
0
dejaboo
To the photographer - I wasn't trying to be a smart aleck about what kind of bird it was...I am an avid birdwatcher and thought you might want to know exactly what bird you photographed. It IS a lovely picture (even though I hate screeching bulbuls :D)
0
Gurukun
Beutiful pic!!
0
RomeoRamenII
Good picture composition. Too bad the bird's a bit soft. One of the down sides of using a zoom lens over a fixed lens for photos like these.
0
Debucho
40 comments on a picture of a bird. Brilliant!
0
lotus2
Such a lovely picture! My compliments to the photographer! This picture should be used for a postage stamp or postcard.
0
tokyochris
I'm just going to be honest and admit to my ignorance... I had no idea they bloomed differently across Japan :-/
0
Shaolin7
Finally, JT has a photo depicting real beauty. That's a wonderful shot!
0
888naff
"I had no idea they bloomed differently across Japan :-/"
... thats a joke right? For a country that makes such a bit deal about forecasting cherry blooms.
0
DarkKnightNine
@ dejaboo: I know and I truly appreciate the correction. I'm shameful to admit, I had no idea what kind of bird it was. thanks for commenting, dk9
0
womanforwomen
a warm kiss to the photographer
0
DarkKnightNine
@ RomeoRamenII: and it's especially difficult to pinpoint a moving subject in sharp focus zoomed all the way in at that focal length while trying to maintain the good composition. if the subject was more cooperative, I probably would have nailed the focus.
0
DarkKnightNine
@ womanforwomen: Wow! Thanks, dk9
0
BORIS_CHANG_LUIGI
Sarge wrote: "Nope, they be plum blossoms. Gotta wait a few more weeks for the cherry blossoms..."
Could the editors and /or moderators give a definitive answer as to what sort of bird and blossom we're talking about here.
One guy even said "That's not a blossom tree"!
0
LoveUSA
to me the bird looks like a hawk.
0
usaexpat
Beautiful picture, a very "luck of the moment" sort of catch.
0
Fadamor
Re whether it's a Plum or a Cherry tree, Wiki has this to say about Plum trees:
0
BurakuminDes
Plum/cherry blossoms, whatever people! SPRING IS COMING! YIHAA! Awful, Awful snow and winter is melting away! Bring on Hanami and the intoxication under said plum/cherry blossoms!
0
Stranger_in_a_Strange_Land
These birds are all over around here and definitely not one of my favorites. They let out a loud screech and fly off whenever I come across one.
0
Stranger_in_a_Strange_Land
" was told by Japanese friends who know that they were Plum Blossoms and that the bird was a "Uguisu"."
Hahahaha. Looks nothing like an uguisu.
0
cleo
A couple of years ago a pair of bulbuls built a nest and raised four babies in a tree right outside my window. The nest seemed rather precarious so I slung a bamboo basket underneath to catch any babies that might fall out, and keep cats from climbing the tree. I had a ringside seat from the egg stage to the day the babies flew the nest. Like my very own private nature show. It was great.
I've had a soft spot for bulbuls ever since; whenever I see one, I wonder if perhaps it's one of 'my' babies.....
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