Magpie Shrike found in Healsville Sanctuary (bird park) Victoria Australia

 

I have now completed a three-week term of contract work and at last may return home to rejoin Joel. Together we have long been planning to extend our collection with the addition of three further lenses.

The bird pictured is the Magpie Shrike (Urolestes melanoleucus), which I had once mistaken for a crow. This photograph was taken some years ago and, seeing it again, awakens a sense of fond recollection. The Magpie Shrike, native to the savannahs and open woodlands of sub-Saharan Africa, is distinguished by its striking black-and-white plumage, long tail, and vivid red eyes. It is known for its social nature, often observed in groups, and for the shrike’s characteristic habit of impaling its prey upon thorns—a practice that earned the family the name “butcherbirds.”

At the time, I had recently acquired a Pentax 300mm f/2.8 lens from eBay, a venerable piece of craftsmanship which I added to my vintage collection. The lens, coupled with the encounter with this striking bird, remains a vivid memory, intertwining my passion for photography with the natural history of the African landscape.

Pentax K20D

A 300mm f2.8 

Linking Saturday Critter