Victoria's Riflebird as shot at Jourama Falls

Full morning in rainforest along Clearview Creek at Jourama Falls today highlighted by close looks at female or possibly immature male Victoria's Riflebird (Ptiloris victoriae).

Typical heavy rustling gave the bird away. Didn't get any images of it ripping away at folded bark in its hunt for insect food.

But luck brought bird across me to feed on ripening fruit, or seeds in the fruit, or perhaps insects eating the fruit.

Victoria's Riflebird is the Hinchinbrook Shire emblem, with a range limited mainly to high forest in tropical North Queensland. The species has become increasing difficult to find in many parts of its range.

Wee change from today: all images will almost always be presented exactly as shot, apart from downsizing to 1400x933 pixels. So, no cropping, no sharpening, no colour alteration. I'm hoping the exercise will force me to think more about each shot.

Of course if I can't get close it'll be rather obvious. Magpie  appears because it was standing near the Jourama turnoff today, roughly 30km from Ingham and TytoWetlands. It's been 7-8 years since I saw a Magpie so close to Tyto. Listings of the species in Tyto in recent years seem to represent expectation trumping actuality.