help explain this picture “Mother and Sons”

many people love birds and keep them as pets. many more take to observing birds in nature and some are even good at taking pictures of birds.

although i am fascinated with all animals i’m not one of them who makes observing animals a hobby. when i saw this picture i was more captured by the stunning image itself rather then what it displays in detail




the photo is entitled “Mother and Sons” and won 3rd prize at a photo contest organized by the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity

TextBut Tuoi Tre newspaper said many netizens, including photographers, think he might have forced the birds out of their nest.

www.talkvietnam.com...

apparently there has been talk about photographers tying baby birds to branches to get good photogaphs. but Ho Van Dien the photographer of the above picture claimes he has done no such thing, he insists he did it with patience and luck

looking now at the picture from a different perspective i find it hard to believe these baby birds would be glued to the branch. would the mother just sit there and keep feeding? would the babies not wobble and be distracted? there must be people on ats who know more about the possibilities of bird-hatchlings leaving their nest to be fed.

or is it even photoshopped?

I know nothing about these birds so it is hard to say, though really horrific if that is the lengths a photographer will go to!

The fact we have pigeons and chickens makes me even more confused... chickens are quite capable of survival without parents if their basic needs are met while the pigeons look much like these little guys, all fugly, needing fed by the parents, and in no way capable of being out of the nest until the flight feathers come in.

Very interesting and what a beautiful bird mom is.

It is no secret that animal photos are often staged.

This picture is genuine i think.

I judge that from looking at the feeding order of the birds, the one closest to mother has more fat and feathers, and last one is skin and bone.

Natural selection..

I suppose it could have been staged...
Just about nothing people do surprises me anymore.

From the age of six days, nestlings can also direct streams of faeces at intruders, and will hiss at them in a snake-like fashion.[6] The young also strike with their bill or with one wing.[15]

Wikipedia

It seems as if the young are quite talented and resourceful so...maybe?

Smart bird also!

Larger prey items are beaten against the ground or a preferred stone to kill them and remove indigestible body parts such as wings and legs.[6]

I think it depends on the species of bird. Hatchling egrets and other wading birds will sometimes hang out close to the nest as they hit that approximate age. Gators know it and will lurk underneath the nests at the wading bird rookeries waiting for a clumsy hatchling to either fall or batter a nestmate into the water.

originally posted by: Mianeye
It is no secret that animal photos are often staged.

This picture is genuine i think.

I judge that from looking at the feeding order of the birds, the one closest to mother has more fat and feathers, and last one is skin and bone.

Natural selection..

Good observation.

I was watching spring watch here in the U.K one year and they showed a Barn Owl nest. The eggs hatched and there were 2 chicks in the nest. The first Owl to hatch had a head start and was bigger than his sibling. Within a few weeks he was double the size of his sibling and decided to get rid of the competition, turning around and eating it alive.

Nature is beautiful, but can also be ugly.

thank you all for helping solve the mystery around this photograph

it does support my impression that it is a genuine situation

i further looked up the behaviour of these birds, hoopoe, and although it does not state clearly that hatchlings use their little legs before they fledge, here some more info on them

The incubation period for the species is between 15 and 18 days, during which time the male feeds the female. Incubation begins as soon as the first egg is laid, so the chicks are born asynchronously. The chicks hatch with a covering of downy feathers. By around day three to five, feather quills emerge which will become the adult feathers. The chicks are brooded by the female for between 9 to 14 days.[6] The female later joins the male in the task of bringing food.[16] The young fledge in 26 to 29 days and remain with the parents for about a week more (en.wikipedia.org...

That's a hoopoe.

People trap birds using glued twigs. Nasty people with no education.

I think that photographers of note would not compromise their reputation by doing such an act. I believe that the photographer was one of those obsessives who say patiently for hours/days/years to snap such a picture.

Nature is wonderful. Let's celebrate it.

originally posted by: paraphi
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People trap birds using glued twigs. ......

that is just terrible. i could hardly believe it. so i went on search and found this in a 2006 edition of the telegraph

A bird trapper who caught wild finches by putting glue on twigs and trees in his garden was jailed for four months yesterday.

for pure greed.