This isn’t an image I’d usually share – the warbler is looking away from the camera, and whether you’re photographing people or birds or bugs, the golden rule is to always have at least one eye visible. A photo of any creature without a visible eye is detached; it’s the eyes that somehow imbue life, and let us form a connection with a photo.
And yet here we are, with a shot of the chestnut-sided warbler mid-preening, with his feathers fluffed. I uploaded this photo at a higher resolution than usual; open it full screen and zoom in to see the detail. Feathers are a wonder of nature, and one I think we often overlook.
Most people see a bird and know that it has feathers, much the same as humans have hair. But that superficial comparison misses the subtlety and variety in both appearance and purpose. Birds have rigid exterior feathers and soft downy feathers beneath; feathers for warmth and feathers for flight; feathers which, in springtime males, help attract a mate, while in females, help camouflage them upon their nests.
Their feathers are bristly and soft, dark and light, imbued with purpose and still lovely, and well worth taking the time to admire, even in a photo that doesn’t meet the traditional standard to be considered successful.