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Hand held, Zero Image 6x6, Tri-X 400, expired 1987. Developed in R09 One Shot (Rodinal), 1+50, 17.5 minutes.
Negative scanned as color negative, color setting.
This is my WHOLE doll collection at the moment! Can you tell I have a thing for Volks? Haha. I know it's not a great photo but when I got them all lined up I just had to take one. From left to right: Kazuya Kujo on SD13 girl body (This was a grail doll for me and my sister surprised me at Christmas with her! I cried so hard.), Old F-07(Pearl), One-off SDGr Lorina, SDgr Belldandy, SD13 Nono, SDM Mako, FCS WS F-60, FCS F-45, SD Nana, Dear SD SwD Nono head on Lieselotte body.
I think I'm at my doll limit for now! I need to take the time to appreciate each one and make some outfits for them. Does anyone else ever feel overwhelmed by their collection at times?
I feel like I've been learning a lot of lessons lately, and this is very much one of them.
Just over 7 weeks ago, Caryn died. Caryn was my mum's best friend and was as good as a second mother to me. She was 46, had no prior life-threatening health complaints and left behind a husband (Rob, one of my dad's best friends) and two beautiful teenage daughters (one of whom is one of my sister's best friends). She died suddenly and completely unexpectedly of a massive brain haemorrhage. If my mum had died I know that Caryn would have stepped up into that role in her place. I'm really struggling to work out how I feel about the whole thing, and coming back to university after Easter has allowed me to carry on running away from dealing with my grief and I think when I go back home in June and have 3 months of being back without Caryn being there the reality of the situation is going to hit me like a sledgehammer in the face. I went to visit Rob the day before I came back to uni (around a month after she died) and just being in their house without her there was really tough but I needed it because otherwise I would have just carried on running and the month of mixed emotions I'd been storing up wouldn't have had a chance to come out when I broke down in tears before I went to bed that night.
Rubbish things happen. I think that's a given, really. But whatever happens, God is good and I genuinely, from the bottom of my heart, believe that. God's goodness is not affected or lessened by Caryn's death and in life she was a blessing beyond words to myself, the entire community at my home church and to others beyond that community.
I am frequently blown away reading the book of Job in the Old Testament. Job's life was pretty kushti - in Job 1:1-3 we read that: "There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east."
Over the course of the first chapter of Job, Job loses everything - his servants are all killed, his animals are all raided or burned up and all his children are killed when the oldest brother's house collapses on them. Job's response?
"Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshipped. And he said, “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong." (Job 1:20-22)
The other night I was talking to a friend who has got a load of stuff going on back home and we were talking about God's goodness. At one point, my friend (we'll refer to my friend as 'Mark') turned to me and just simply said "Why does God let bad things happen?" If you know me then you know that I always have an answer for everything, but at this point there was just nothing I could say. One of Mark's younger siblings has a really serious eating disorder and it's placing an awful amount of strain on his family and Mark himself. So there we sat at around 3 in the morning, Mark struggling to work out how a good God could allow such suffering and me trying not to cry thinking about Caryn. Mark told me later that week that at church God had revealed to him that actually, the trouble he was having accepting God's goodness came out of the fact that he knew that God was good but was worried about what would happen if he leant completely upon that goodness and then that goodness failed. Life lesson number one: God never fails.
At church this weekend past we were having a time of worship, prayer and prophecy and at one point this guy came up and shared something that struck me deep in my heart. He reminded us that God is always doing a good thing. Bad stuff happens and bad stuff happens that we don't understand, but God is always doing a good thing. When I look at Caryn's death I have such difficulty trying to reconcile these ideas because I don't understand and I fail to see how any good could come out of this in any way whatsoever, but we know from just skimming through the Bible that even though awful stuff happens all the time God is ALWAYS doing a good thing. Always. Caryn's funeral was one of the most Spirit-filled services I have ever been to at my home church and the turnout was such that a load of people found themselves having to stand at the back. We sang rousing hymns to God and the Holy Spirit was in that place in such a powerful way as we sang. I had the utmost, immeasurable pleasure of being able to worship wholeheartedly alongside Rob as we lifted up songs declaring the absolute goodness of God.
I guess the ultimate demonstration and proof of God's goodness is the cross. Before the world began, God knew everything that would take place in the years to come and He knew the evil things we would do and how they would fracture our relationship with Him. People seem to have this misconception that God created the world, it all went bottoms up and then He decided He would have to send Jesus to pay the punishment on the cross that we deserved. In actual fact, God created the world and did so knowing that He would have to give of Himself to save us. It may surprise you to know that God doesn't need you - He was perfectly happy co-existing in the Trinity before the creation of the world. God made a tremendous sacrifice so that He could make you and restore what would become a fractured relationship between you and Him. God looked at you before He made you and decided that you would be worth it.
"In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." (1 John 4:9-10)
Grief is really really painful, I can tell you that first hand. It can take a really long time to work through and there's no quick fix. However, I can also tell you that we have a hope, that God doesn't leave us to deal with our grief on our own, that He walks by our side every step of the way and He is always doing a good thing. God is good, period. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
I kinda wanted this photo to have the tones and vibe of a 60s shot.
Another from this weekend.
Listen ----> www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUFL8WSxTgY
FORMSPRING ----> www.formspring.me/isotopic
The Kikuyu are the country's largest ethnic group (22%). They live on the whole territory of Kenya. However, the highest concentration can be found in Central Province, known as the traditional Kikuyu homeland. The Kikuyu were formerly hunters, and meat was the prerogative of men. But from now on, Kenyan laws prohibit them from hunting, and meat is served only on special occasions (circumcision, new visitor etc.). The Kikuyu are also traditionally an agricultural people. Nevertheless, many are involved in all kinds of businesses and a lot have moved into cities. Since they speak a Bantu language, they are culturally related to other Bantu-speaking peoples of East Africa, in particular the Kamba, the Meru, the Embu, and the Chuka.Most of their culture has been communicated through very rich oral traditions. Their oral literature consists of original poems, stories, fables, myths, enigmas, and proverbs containing the principles of their philosophy and moral codes. The Gicandi for example is an ancient poem of enigmas, which is sung in public markets and accompanied by musical instruments made from gourds. According to tradition, the founder of the tribe is a man named Gikuyu. His nine daughters are supposed to be on the origin of the nine sub-groups. Each member of the subclan (mbari) knows from which ancestor, or which daughter of Gikuyu, he or she originates. The transition from one life stage to another in the Kikuyu society used to be marked by rites of passage, both for males and females. Were included in the main stages : the birth of a newborn, the stage of infant, the one of children before circumcision or excision, and after circumcision or excision, the period of mariage without and then with children, and old age. The concept of age-sets (mariika) is still of the utmost importance in their society. Each one of the circumcision groups (generations) is given a name. Members of the same age-set are given a rank in the groups. This rank determines the behavior of the members within a age-set and their behavior towards members of other age groups. More respect is given to the elder. Relationships are very strong between members of the same age-set and continue throughout their lives, even if it is less true today. Traditionally the Kikuyu worship their ancestors and their unique God called Ngai, name borrowed to the Maasai. In the past, they used to offer to Ngai sacrifices of animals on sacred places. Mount Kenya for instance is considered the home of God. The Kikuyu still gather sometimes on these places for religious or political meetings. Traditionaly, the medicine man is a powerful person who forecasts the future, heals, or frees people from ill omens. His main attribute is a gourd. It contains river's pebbles collected during his initiation, as well as small bones and sticks, marbles, old coins and pieces of glass, among other things. Conversion to Christianity was slow because they didn't want to give up their own culture. Even now, many have become Christian but their customs are still very strong. Many Kikuyu firmly opposed to the abolishment of excision. However, because of the influence of Christianity and Western education, they tend to be monogam. And though the main religion is now Christianity, some still have their traditional beliefs and others are muslim.
Les Kikuyu sont le groupe ethnique le plus large du pays (22%).Ils vivent sur l’ensemble du territoire du Kenya. Toutefois, la plus grande concentration se trouve dans la Province Centrale, connue comme la terre traditionnelle des Kikuyu.Les Kikuyu étaient auparavant des chasseurs, et la viande était la prérogative des hommes. Mais désormais, les lois kenyanes leur interdisent de chasser, et la viande est servie uniquement pour les occasions spéciales (circoncision, nouveau venu etc.). Les Kikuyu sont aussi traditionnellement un peuple d’agriculteurs. Néanmoins, beaucoup se sont engagés dans tout type de commerces et un grand nombre est parti dans les villes. Comme ils parlent une langue Bantu, ils sont culturellement liés aux autres peuples de langue Bantu d’Afrique de l’Est, en particulier les Kamba, Meru, Embu et Chuka.La majorité de leur culture a été communiquée par des traditions orales très riches. La littérature orale est composée de poèmes originaux, histoires, fables, mythes, énigmes, et proverbes qui contiennent les principes de leur philosophie et codes moraux. Le Gicandi par exemple est un ancien poème d’énigmes qui est chanté sur les marchés publics et accompagné par des instruments de musique faits à partir de gourdes. Selon la tradition, le fondateur de la tribu est un homme nommé Gikuyu. Ses neuf filles sont censées être à l’origine des neuf sous-groupes. Chaque membre du sous-clan (mbari) sait de quel ancêtre, ou se quelle fille de Gikuyu, il provient. La transition d’une étape de la vie à une autre dans la société Kikuyu était autrefois marquée par des rites de passage, pour les hommes comme pour les femmes. Faisaient partie des étapes principales: la naissance du nouveau-né, l’étape du petit enfant, celle des enfants avant la circoncision ou l’excision, celle après la circoncision ou l’excision, la période du mariage sans puis avec enfants, et la vieillesse. Le concept de classes d’âge (mariika) est encore de la plus grande importance dans leur société. Un nom est attribué à chacun des groupes de circoncision (c’est-à-dire chacune des générations). Un rang est donné aux membres d’une même classe d’âge. Ce rang détermine la conduite des membres au sein d’une classe d’âge et celle envers les membres des autres groupes d’âge. Les aînés ont droit à davantage de respect. Les relations sont très solides entre les membres d’une même classe d’âge et continuent tout au long de leur vie, même si cela est moins vrai aujourd’hui. Traditionnellement, les Kikuyu vouent un culte à leurs ancêtres et leur Dieu unique appelé Ngai, nom emprunté aux Maasai. Dans le passé, ils avaient l’habitude d’offrir à Ngai des sacrifices d’animaux dans des endroits sacrés. Le Mont Kenya par exemple est considéré comme la maison de Dieu. Les Kikuyu se rassemblent encore quelques fois dans ces lieux pour des réunions religieuses et politiques. Traditionnellement, l’homme sorcier est une personne puissante qui prédit le futur, soigne, et libère les gens des mauvais augures. Son principal attribut est une gourde. Celle-ci contient des galets de rivière ramassés lors de son initiation, ainsi que des petits os et bâtonnets, des billes, des vieilles pièces et morceaux de verre, parmi d’autres choses. La conversion au Christianisme a été lente car ils ne voulaient pas abandonner leur propre culture. Encore de nos jours, beaucoup sont devenus chrétiens mais leurs coutumes sont encore très présentes. De nombreux Kukuyu s’opposent fermement à l’abolition de l’excision. Toutefois, à cause de l’influence du Christiansme et de l’éducation occidentale, ils ont de plus en plus tendance à être monogames. Et malgré le fait que la principale religion soit maintenant le Christianisme, certains ont conservé leurs croyances tandis que d’autres sont musulmans.
© Eric Lafforgue
this is my first large scale build, its a made up church(isn) building and a simple graveyard. i hope you enjoy the pics
The spicyness of fresh ginger gets a sweet makeover with a whole wheat and spelt cake, topped off with brown sugar caramellized pears by turning it upside-down.
Get the recipe on the blog:
www.aspoonfulofphotography.blogspot.de/2014/01/fresh-ging...
Saw the whole fleet of these... apart from SIA. This is the only one I got pics off.... same as last year... and that was SID too!!
Look up and it looks like an Islander flying over.
Two of my passions are photography and listening to music. Combining the two makes an awesome night. The band are A Whole Lotta Led, playing at Gloucester Guildhall in December 2013. They are a Led Zepplin tribute band. If you live in the UK, and they are playing nearby go and see them: they'll rock your socks off. www.wholelottaled.co.uk/
This whole zoo series are the shots from a self-taught lesson. The zoo is a great place to experiment - My Nikon D7200 and Tamron 150-600mm combination gets me close to the animals. I was getting more and more familiar with shooting this combo in low light, handheld, and other non-controlled environments. I've also been playing with post processing in Lightroom and Google's Nik Collection.
Das Zuiko 2,0/150mm ist ein echtes Monster - Ursprünglich für FT- Anschluss gebaut. Wird seit einigen Jahren nicht mehr produziert und ist nur noch gelegentlich gebraucht erhältlich. Mit Adapter an MFT verwendbar, wobei Autofocus und Blendensteuerung übertragen wird. Unendlich-Focussierung ist gegeben, aber nicht alle Adapter funktionieren immer perfekt. Optisch hervorragend - sichtbar besser als das 2,8/40-150mm von Olympus.
Nachteil: Schwer, unhandlich, laut, langsam und teuer.
Vorteil: Optimale Freistellung durch hohe Lichtstärke und lange Brennweite (300 mm rel. KB) und ein schönes Bokeh. Gute Detail-Wiedergabe -sichtbare Qualität.
Die ganze Einheit bringt zwar fast 3kg auf die Waage, aber die Schlepperei lohnt sich.
The Zuiko 2.0/150mm is a real monster - originally built for FT connection. It has been out of production for several years and is only occasionally available second-hand. Can be used on MFT with adapter, whereby autofocus and aperture control are transferred. Infinity focus is given, but not all adapters always work perfectly. Optically excellent - visibly better than the 2.8/40-150mm from Olympus.
Disadvantage: Heavy, unwieldy, noisy, slow and expensive.
Advantage: Optimal framing due to high speed and long focal length (300 mm rel. KB) and a nice bokeh. Good detail reproduction - visible quality.
The whole unit weighs almost 3kg, but it's worth the lugging.
Love locks are commonplace in a growing number of countries (although less so in the UK from what I've seen). Romantic couples will write their names, and often the date, on a padlock and attach it to a public space, usually a fence or a bridge. At this location, there was a large number of these, mostly likely due to the fantastic view over Golfo di Napoli and on towards Mount Vesusvius in the background.
I wanted to get a nice close up of the locks, but also give you a sense of where and why. Please excuse the pun in the title, I couldn't resist it!
Details
Canon EOS 500D / ISO 200 / f7.1 / 10-20mm @ 10mm
photos of train car graffiti art. Art in the Streets exhibit, Geffen Contemporary at MOCA.
slr magic 35mm F1.7 lens.
...without a bright yellow car....having waited patiently for the cars to clear, a lady in a very bright yellow car pulled up and got out of the car, luckily for my shot she returned and moved the offending car....maybe she felt my vibes!
www.solwayplainchurches.org.uk/churches/silloth.html
"Christ church was built in the late nineteenth century, consecrated in 1870. It is Victorian Gothic in style although built in stone and brick, and possesses an apsidal east end. Externally the church is faced with granite which originally came as shipping ballast. The church is located in the centre of the town and its spire is a significant landmark across the Solway Plain."
The common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) is a bird of prey species belonging to the kestrel group of the falcon family Falconidae. It is also known as the European kestrel, Eurasian kestrel, or Old World kestrel. In the United Kingdom, where no other kestrel species commonly occurs, it is generally just called "kestrel".[2]
This species occurs over a large range. It is widespread in Europe, Asia, and Africa, as well as occasionally reaching the east coast of North America.[3] It has colonized a few oceanic islands, but vagrant individuals are generally rare; in the whole of Micronesia for example, the species was only recorded twice each on Guam and Saipan in the Marianas.[4][5][6]
Description
Common kestrels measure 32–39 cm (12+1⁄2–15+1⁄2 in) from head to tail, with a wingspan of 65–82 cm (25+1⁄2–32+1⁄2 in). Females are noticeably larger, with the adult male weighing 136–252 g (4+3⁄4–8+7⁄8 oz), around 155 g (5+1⁄2 oz) on average; the adult female weighs 154–314 g (5+3⁄8–11+1⁄8 oz), around 184 g (6+1⁄2 oz) on average. They are thus small compared with other birds of prey, but larger than most songbirds. Like the other Falco species, they have long wings as well as a distinctive long tail.[4]
Their plumage is mainly light chestnut brown with blackish spots on the upperside and buff with narrow blackish streaks on the underside; the remiges are also blackish. Unlike most raptors, they display sexual colour dimorphism with the male having fewer black spots and streaks, as well as a blue-grey cap and tail. The tail is brown with black bars in females, and has a black tip with a narrow white rim in both sexes. All common kestrels have a prominent black malar stripe like their closest relatives.[4]
The cere, feet, and a narrow ring around the eye are bright yellow; the toenails, bill and iris are dark. Juveniles look like adult females, but the underside streaks are wider; the yellow of their bare parts is paler. Hatchlings are covered in white down feathers, changing to a buff-grey second down coat before they grow their first true plumage.[4]
Adult male F. t. tinnunculus landing
Adult male F. t. tinnunculus landing
Young male F. t. tinnunculus during ringing
Young male F. t. tinnunculus during ringing
Female F. t. tinnunculus
Female F. t. tinnunculus
F. t. tinnunculus at lake Neusiedl
F. t. tinnunculus at lake Neusiedl
F. t. tinnunculus Male in the wild
F. t. tinnunculus
Male in the wild
F. t. tinnunculus Female in the wild
F. t. tinnunculus
Female in the wild
Perched near the nest of a common blackbird (Turdus merula), with a male blackbird attempting to distract it
Perched near the nest of a common blackbird (Turdus merula), with a male blackbird attempting to distract it
Hovering tail feathers closed
Hovering
tail feathers closed
Hovering tail feathers spread
Hovering
tail feathers spread
Hovering
Hovering
Skull
Skull
Behaviour and ecology
In the cool-temperate parts of its range, the common kestrel migrates south in winter; otherwise it is sedentary, though juveniles may wander around in search for a good place to settle down as they become mature. It is a diurnal animal of the lowlands and prefers open habitat such as fields, heaths, shrubland and marshland. It does not require woodland to be present as long as there are alternative perching and nesting sites like rocks or buildings. It will thrive in treeless steppe where there are abundant herbaceous plants and shrubs to support a population of prey animals. The common kestrel readily adapts to human settlement, as long as sufficient swathes of vegetation are available, and may even be found in wetlands, moorlands and arid savanna. It is found from the sea to the lower mountain ranges, reaching elevations up to 4,500 m (14,800 ft) ASL in the hottest tropical parts of its range but only to about 1,750 m (5,740 ft) in the subtropical climate of the Himalayan foothills.[4][7]
Globally, this species is not considered threatened by the IUCN.[1] Its stocks were affected by the indiscriminate use of organochlorines and other pesticides in the mid-20th century, but being something of an r-strategist able to multiply quickly under good conditions it was less affected than other birds of prey. The global population has been fluctuating considerably over the years but remains generally stable; it is roughly estimated at 1–2 million pairs or so, about 20% of which are found in Europe. There has been a recent decline in parts of Western Europe such as Ireland. Subspecies dacotiae is quite rare, numbering less than 1000 adult birds in 1990, when the ancient western Canarian subspecies canariensis numbered about ten times as many birds.[4]
Food and feeding
When hunting, the common kestrel characteristically hovers about 10–20 m (35–65 ft) above the ground, searching for prey, either by flying into the wind or by soaring using ridge lift. Like most birds of prey, common kestrels have keen eyesight enabling them to spot small prey from a distance. Once prey is sighted, the bird makes a short, steep dive toward the target, unlike the peregrine which relies on longer, higher dives to reach full speed when targeting prey. Kestrels can often be found hunting along the sides of roads and motorways, where the road verges support large numbers of prey. This species is able to see near ultraviolet light, allowing the birds to detect the urine trails around rodent burrows as they shine in an ultraviolet colour in the sunlight.[8] Another favourite (but less conspicuous) hunting technique is to perch a bit above the ground cover, surveying the area. When the bird spots prey animals moving by, it will pounce on them. They also prowl a patch of hunting ground in a ground-hugging flight, ambushing prey as they happen across it.[4]
European pine vole (Microtus subterraneus), a typical common kestrel prey since prehistoric times
Common kestrels eat almost exclusively mouse-sized mammals. Voles, shrews and true mice supply up to three-quarters or more of the biomass most individuals ingest. On oceanic islands (where mammals are often scarce), small birds (mainly passerines) may make up the bulk of its diet.[6] Elsewhere, birds are only an important food during a few weeks each summer when inexperienced fledglings abound. Other suitably sized vertebrates like bats, swifts,[9] frogs[citation needed] and lizards are eaten only on rare occasions. However, kestrels are more likely to prey on lizards in southern latitudes. In northern latitudes, the kestrel is found more often to deliver lizards to their nestlings during midday and also with increasing ambient temperature.[10] Seasonally, arthropods may be a main prey item. Generally, invertebrates like camel spiders and even earthworms, but mainly sizeable insects such as beetles, orthopterans and winged termites will be eaten.[4]
F. tinnunculus requires the equivalent of 4–8 voles a day, depending on energy expenditure (time of the year, amount of hovering, etc.). They have been known to catch several voles in succession and cache some for later consumption. An individual nestling consumes on average 4.2 g/h, equivalent to 67.8 g/d (3–4 voles per day).[11]
Reproduction
Young kestrels, not yet able to fly, waiting for food
The common kestrel starts breeding in spring (or the start of the dry season in the tropics), i.e. April or May in temperate Eurasia and some time between August and December in the tropics and southern Africa. It is a cavity nester, preferring holes in cliffs, trees or buildings; in built-up areas, common kestrels will often nest on buildings, and will reuse the old nests of corvids. The diminutive subspecies dacotiae, the sarnicolo of the eastern Canary Islands is peculiar for nesting occasionally in the dried fronds below the top of palm trees, apparently coexisting with small songbirds which also make their home there.[12] In general, common kestrels will usually tolerate conspecifics nesting nearby, and sometimes a few dozen pairs may be found nesting in a loose colony.[4]
Male F. t. tinnunculus bringing food to nest
The clutch is normally 3–7 eggs; more eggs may be laid in total but some will be removed during the laying time. This lasts about 2 days per egg laid. The eggs are abundantly patterned with brown spots, from a wash that tinges the entire surface buffish white to large almost-black blotches. Incubation lasts from 4 weeks to one month, both male and female will take shifts incubating the eggs. After the eggs have hatched, the parents share brooding and hunting duties. Only the female feeds the chicks, by tearing apart prey into manageable chunks. The young fledge after 4–5 weeks. The family stays close together for a few weeks, during which time the young learn how to fend for themselves and hunt prey. The young become sexually mature the next breeding season.[4] Female kestrel chicks with blacker plumage have been found to have bolder personalities, indicating that even in juvenile birds plumage coloration can act as a status signal.[13]
Data from Britain shows nesting pairs bringing up about 2–3 chicks on average, though this includes a considerable rate of total brood failures; actually, few pairs that do manage to fledge offspring raise less than 3 or 4. Compared to their siblings, first-hatched chicks have greater survival and recruitment probability, thought to be due to the first-hatched chicks obtaining a higher body condition when in the nest.[14] Population cycles of prey, particularly voles, have a considerable influence on breeding success. Most common kestrels die before they reach 2 years of age; mortality up until the first birthday may be as high as 70%. At least females generally breed at one year of age;[15] possibly, some males take a year longer to maturity as they do in related species. The biological lifespan to death from senescence can be 16 years or more, however; one was recorded to have lived almost 24 years.[15]
Egg of common kestrel
Egg of common kestrel
Falco tinnunculus alexandri - MHNT
Falco tinnunculus alexandri - MHNT
Hatchling of common kestrel (note white down)
Hatchling of common kestrel (note white down)
Fledglings in nest cavity
Fledglings in nest cavity
Immature after fledging
Immature after fledging
Common kestrel nest
Common kestrel nest
Evolution and systematics
This species is part of a clade that contains the kestrel species with black malar stripes, a feature which apparently was not present in the most ancestral kestrels. They seem to have radiated in the Gelasian (Late Pliocene,[16] roughly 2.5–2 mya, probably starting in tropical East Africa, as indicated by mtDNA cytochrome b sequence data analysis and considerations of biogeography. The common kestrel's closest living relative is apparently the nankeen or Australian kestrel (F. cenchroides), which probably derived from ancestral common kestrels settling in Australia and adapting to local conditions less than one million years ago, during the Middle Pleistocene.[17]
The rock kestrel (F. rupicolus), previously considered a subspecies, is now treated as a distinct species.
The lesser kestrel (F. naumanni), which much resembles a small common kestrel with no black on the upperside except wing and tail tips, is probably not very closely related to the present species, and the American kestrel (F. sparverius) is apparently not a true kestrel at all.[17] Both species have much grey in their wings in males, which does not occur in the common kestrel or its close living relatives but does in almost all other falcons.
Subspecies
Female wintering in Kinnerasani Wildlife Sanctuary (Andhra Pradesh, India)
F. t. canariensis on Gran Canaria
F. t. rupicolaeformis from Hurghada, Egypt
A number of subspecies of the common kestrel are known, though some are hardly distinct and may be invalid. Most of them differ little, and mainly in accordance with Bergmann's and Gloger's rules. Tropical African forms have less grey in the male plumage.[4]
Falco tinnunculus tinnunculus Linnaeus, 1758
Temperate areas of Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and Asia north of the Hindu Kush-Himalaya mountain ranges to the NW Sea of Okhotsk region. Northern Asian populations migrate south in winter, apparently not crossing the Himalayas but diverting to the west.
F. t. rufescens Swainson, 1837
Sahel east to Ethiopia, southwards around Congo basin to S Tanzania and NE Angola.
F. t. interstinctus McClelland, 1840
Has dark heavily marked birds and has a foxed red phase but not reliably identified in the field. Breeds East Asia from Tibet to Korea and Japan, south into Indochina. Winters to the south of its breeding range, from northeastern India to the Philippines (where it is localized, e.g. from Mindanao only two records exist).[18][19]
F. t. rupicolaeformis (C. L. Brehm, 1855)
Arabian Peninsula except in the desert and across the Red Sea into Africa.
F. t. neglectus Schlegel, 1873
Northern Cape Verde Islands.
F. t. canariensis (Koenig, 1890)
Madeira and western Canary Islands. The more ancient Canaries subspecies.
F. t. dacotiae Hartert, 1913 – Local name: cernícalo
Eastern Canary Islands: Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, Chinijo Archipelago. A more recently evolved subspecies than canariensis.
F. t. objurgatus (Baker, 1929)
Western, Nilgiris and Eastern Ghats of India; Sri Lanka. Heavily marked, has rufous thighs with dark grey head in males.[19][20]
F. t. archerii (Hartert & Neumann, 1932)
Somalia, coastal Kenya, and Socotra
F. t. alexandri Bourne, 1955
Southwestern Cape Verde Islands.
Falco tinnunculus alexandri - MHNT
The common kestrels of Europe living during cold periods of the Quaternary glaciation differed slightly in size from the current population; they are sometimes referred to as the paleosubspecies F. t. atavus (see also Bergmann's rule). The remains of these birds, which presumably were the direct ancestors of the living F. t. tinnunculus (and perhaps other subspecies), are found throughout the then-unglaciated parts of Europe, from the Late Pliocene (ELMA Villanyian/ICS Piacenzian, MN16) about 3 million years ago to the Middle Pleistocene Saalian glaciation which ended about 130,000 years ago, when they finally gave way to birds indistinguishable from those living today. Some of the voles the Ice Age common kestrels ate—such as European pine voles (Microtus subterraneus)—were indistinguishable from those alive today. Other prey species of that time evolved more rapidly (like M. malei, the presumed ancestor of today's tundra vole M. oeconomus), while yet again others seem to have gone entirely extinct without leaving any living descendants—for example Pliomys lenki, which apparently fell victim to the Weichselian glaciation about 100,000 years ago.[21][22]
In culture
Wooden common kestrel sculpture
The kestrel is sometimes seen, like other birds of prey, as a symbol of the power and vitality of nature. In "Into Battle" (1915), the war poet Julian Grenfell invokes the superhuman characteristics of the kestrel among several birds, when hoping for prowess in battle:
The kestrel hovering by day,
And the little owl that call at night,
Bid him be swift and keen as they,
As keen of ear, as swift of sight.
Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844–1889) writes on the kestrel in his poem "The Windhover", exalting in their mastery of flight and their majesty in the sky.
I caught this morning morning's minion, king-
dom of daylight's dauphin, dapple-dawn-drawn Falcon, in his riding
A kestrel is also one of the main characters in The Animals of Farthing Wood.
Barry Hines’ novel A Kestrel for a Knave - together with the 1969 film based on it, Ken Loach's Kes - is about a working-class boy in England who befriends a kestrel.
The Pathan name for the kestrel, Bād Khurak, means "wind hover" and in Punjab it is called Larzānak or "little hoverer". It was once used as a decoy to capture other birds of prey in Persia and Arabia. It was also used to train greyhounds meant for hunting gazelles in parts of Arabia. Young greyhounds would be set after jerboa-rats which would also be distracted and forced to make twists and turns by the dives of a kestrel.[23]
Etymology
The name "kestrel" is derived from the French crécerelle which is diminutive for crécelle, which also referred to a bell used by lepers. The word is earlier spelt 'c/kastrel', and is evidenced from the 15th century.[24] The kestrel was once used to drive and keep away pigeons.[25] Archaic names for the kestrel include windhover and windfucker, due to its habit of beating the wind (hovering in air).[24]
The Late Latin falco derives from falx, falcis, a sickle, referencing the claws of the bird.[26] The species name tinnunculus is Latin for "kestrel" from "tinnulus", "shrill".
I wrote a whole rant that went on for paragraphs about what is wrong with contemporary Street Photography, but instead I will just offer a 3 day workshop, inquire within. If you aspire to make photos like this I will gladly teach you how.
The photo shows a delicious-looking, open-faced sandwich on a white plate, set against a backdrop of warm-toned wooden planks, likely a table surface. The sandwich features a multigrain roll, generously topped with several layers of ingredients.
Starting from the bottom, you can see fresh, light green lettuce leaves providing a crisp base. On top of the lettuce are slices of pale pink deli meat, possibly ham or turkey. Overlapping the meat are two slices of light yellow cheese, likely Gouda or a similar mild variety.
Nestled among the cheese and meat are slices of hard-boiled egg, revealing the white and a portion of the yellow yolk. Adding a touch of freshness and color are slices of red tomato and thin slivers of cucumber. A few vibrant green arugula leaves are also placed on top, adding a peppery note and visual appeal.
The multigrain roll, sliced horizontally, has a slightly rustic appearance with visible seeds and grains on its crusty top. The bottom half of the roll is partially obscured by the toppings.
The lighting in the photo appears natural, casting soft shadows and highlighting the textures of the different ingredients. The overall impression is of a fresh, appetizing, and well-prepared sandwich, perfect for a light meal.
I don't think this would ever have been a Led Zeppelin album cover so apologies to Plant, Page and company but it is the week of amore hence all my little hearts and love!
I hope there's never a rule about the repeat use of photo props!! More hearts to follow!!
Our Daily Challenge ~ LOVE .....
Thanks, in advance, to everyone who views this photo, adds a note, leaves a comment and of course BIG thanks to anyone who chooses to favourite my photo .... thanks to you all.
(Calotes versicolor) or Changeable Lizzard is an agamid lizard found widely distributed in Asia. It is an insectivore and the male gets a bright red throat in the breeding season.The Changeable Lizard is relatively common and found in a wide range of habitats. They appear to adapt well to humans and are thus not endangered. They are commonly found among the undergrowth in open habitats including highly urban areas. Changeable Lizards eat mainly insects and small vertebrates, including rodents and other lizards. Although they have teeth, these are designed for gripping prey and not tearing it up. So prey is swallowed whole, after it is stunned by shaking it abou