Two Steppin'

[alpha788]

Took this photo of a bird doing what looked like the two step on a branch at a local conservatory. I have no idea what kind of bird it is - a positive ID would be much appreciated.

Thanks for looking, and C&C welcome.

[ClareH]

Hi,
you got this guy in a funny pose, I have never seen a bird like this, (he looks like a cross between a blue jay & a grackle to me:lol: )
IMHO a little more room on the right.
Your colors look very rich..is it due to your iso 1250 or pp?
Regards,
Clare

[Anthony J Howe]

The two step dance. There is a local competition going on just a few miles away from me, named 'come dancing' Perhaps this bird should enter that.

Can't help with the ID on this one, the experts will help you with this one, but it's such a gorgeous bird.

[dancinec]

Interesting looking bird, flipped through Sibley couldn't immediately see anything that looked like this bird. It does have a crow-magpie-grackle look about it. Very nice capture by the way.

[jimtfoto]

My first thought, given your description, was it might be a member of the Manakin family, which is known for dancing displays. There's a clip of a moonwalking Manakin floating about somewhere on the Internet.

cheers,
jim

[Dimitri_V]

no ID here either Stan but it sure is a great looking bird,good shot.

[alpha788]

Thanks Clare,Tony, Dennis,Jim and Dimitri for taking the time to comment! Much appreciated.

Clare - the bird was actually that rich in colour which is one of the reasons I wanted to find out what it was.

[tkd]

Hello All,

Its a 'superb starling' - a common East African bird. Hell of a name. Its latin name is almost as good - Lamprotornis superbus

[Sindri Skulason]

Love that pose. Beautiful colours. I have never seen this bird before so thank you for sharing. :-)

[tkd]

Here's his wild brother, taken some time ago with FILM! Ooooh!

[alpha788]

Thanks all for the comments and a big thank you to tkd for the ID! Would have never guessed it was from East Africa!

[Kraig C]

Superb, those would be a nice sight for an invasive species over here rather than the european starling...