Patrick Booth, Bright Lights (Single Shot 2021)

The Male Magnificent Riflebird’s (Ptiloris magnificus) displaying behaviour to attract a female mate in Kutini-Payamu (Iron Range) National Park, in the Lockhart River area of North Queensland. Found in New Guinea and the northern tip of Cape York Queensland Australia, male birds will stake out and defend highly sought after perching branches within the rainforest and call for hours (wheew -wit in Iron Range and whit-whit rest of northern Cape York) on end with multiple males calling from multiple locations close by to attract females. The females will look on from above and when the male spots the female, he launches into his dancing display with his brilliant scaly, iridescent blue breast plate, golden waistband and curved wings making whirring whooshing sounds as he progresses rapidly through his repertoire. If the female likes what she sees, she will join him on the branch and then they display together before mating. Challenging natural lighting conditions within the rainforest made this shoot all the more rewarding. 750mm @ 1/1500th f5.6 ISO 2000 , Nikon D500 + AF-S NIKKOR 500mm F/5.6E PF ED VR + Monopod

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.