Turquoise-browed Motmot Banking Toward the Riverbank

A motmot rolls into a turn, opening its gray-brown underwing and turquoise upperwing while the long tail swings behind at Tárcoles River in Costa Rica. The turquoise crown stripe, blue-green wings and two racket-tipped tail feathers identify the Turquoise-browed Motmot of Costa Rica's Pacific dry country. The exposure of 1/4000 sec, f/5.6 and ISO 1000 freezes the decisive body position and separates the principal wing and tail feathers while retaining only fine traces of motion at the fastest edges; the photograph was made in natural light without flash.