Kingbird

From Photo of the day (2009)

Spotted this Western Kingbird (a type of Flycatcher) by the cemetery on the way home from work this afternoon. I stopped the car and snuck up on him, taking shots as I went, expecting him to take off. I haven't seen a live one before (only stuffed ones in the bio lab) so I was quite enthused. He flitted about, chasing flies, from one fence to the other side and then up on this support cable for a phone pole. I was surprised how close he let me get. This is cropped and sharpened. I think I might have played with the highlights but now I've forgot.