Nikkor 200-500 VR/TC 14 III @700mm, f8, ISO 1250, Nikon Z 6; Lit by the soft diffuse light; a moment before disappearing into the thicket she or he (young bird plumage) paused on the branch. Rajasthan forest
Nikkor 200-500 VR/TC 14 III @700mm, f8, ISO 1250, Nikon Z 6 Morning; this cuckoo has seconds earlier swallowed a caterpillar (photographed). Cuckoos are known for catching hairy caterpillars that are safe from most other insect-eating birds. When it comes to their family tree, the cuckoos are long thought to be an archaic group of birds. The latest molecular data (May 2020) struggle to find relations to other basal groups with which the cuckoos are often associated. That again points to a relatively separate lineage with few changes in that sense (phylogenetically). Their simple feet that are of the original, zygodactyl arrangement may well be a sign of it as well. Rajasthan forest after monsoon
Nikkor 200-500 VR/TC 14 III @700mm, f8, Nikon Z 6; Crop (slightly more than APS-H), the focus covers both birds at this point. Rajasthan marshes
