Male Rose-breasted Grosbeak Taking Off from a Mossy Branch at Batsu Gardens

A male Rose-breasted Grosbeak rises from the lichen-covered branch with feet clear, tail fanned and wings opening around the vivid rose breast patch at Batsu Gardens in Costa Rica. The male's black head, white belly and rose-red breast patch mark a long-distance migrant wintering in Central America. The exposure of 1/4000 sec, f/5.6 and ISO 2000 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.