Nannopterum auritum [Double-crested Cormorant]

[Ming]

Ming (2023) Nannopterum auritum (Lesson, 1831) (Phalacrocoracidae) Double-crested Cormorant. Bird photographed in ultraviolet light. LINK

 

Location: Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Massachusetts

 

Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double-crested_cormorant. Accessed 23 July 2023.

 

Comment:

The bird came up to dry its feathers near the tree where I was taking shelter from heat and UV.  It was very close.  I took a few pictures with an El-Nikkor 80mm.  Then I backed away and shot some more with an EF 200mm.  When I got back home, I noticed the reflective dots around the eyes.

 

Webpages that mention cormorant eyes and the surrounding dots talk about how marvelous their colors can be.  See an example of the colors here: http://www.digital-images.net/Images/Cormorants/BreedingCormorant_X1174detail.jpg

I am wondering whether the dots have any functions.  Do they reflect additional UV into the eyes?  Do they look dazzling to mates?

 

El-Nikkor 80mm, Baader-U, white-balanced with gray teflon tape, f8, 1/25 sec, ISO 10,000, RAW to JPG by Canon DPP faithful mode, no post-processing

 

Canon EF 200mm f2.8L II, Kolari-U, f2.8, 1/125 sec, ISO 20,000

 

 

[Andrea B.]

Really nice work, Ming !!

(Later, I'm going to put a header on this topic if you don't mind.)

 

As a general comment (hence, uninformative !), UV-reflective markings on birds/animals are often there for display & attraction purposes. You will have to make some kind of Google search to determine whether anything is known about Cormorants UV-reflective "eye dots". It's quite fascinating to see this.

[Christoph]

Very cool! :-)

[Ming]

Thanks, Andrea, for adding a header.

Thank you, Christoph.

 

[Unscenerie]

Bada$$ looking bird, Ming

[Ming]

On 7/24/2023 at 11:06 AM, Unscenerie said:

Bada$$ looking bird, Ming

Indeed, a little removed from lovely :)

 

[Doug A]

Fabulous capture @Ming. Surprised he didn't fly the moment you were noticed. We rarely get to see animals in UV. These are superb quality.

Thanks for sharing,

Doug A

[Ming]

9 hours ago, Doug A said:

Fabulous capture @Ming. Surprised he didn't fly the moment you were noticed. We rarely get to see animals in UV. These are superb quality.

Thanks for sharing,

Doug A

Thanks a lot, Doug.

 

[VideoJohn]

@Ming those are some crazy isos and very clean pictures....how did you do that?

[Ming]

@VideoJohn On my monitor, the original 45MP pictures (Canon R5) are grainy, but they become cleaner after they are shrunk to 1.5MP (1500 x 1000).  I suppose the grains average out.  Just look at any pictures from farther away, and they are all clean :)