Meadowlark Singing on an Overcast Morning

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I love to photograph on overcast days. The diffuse light often serves to bring out more color and detail in my subjects than does direct sunlight. Also, a colorful subject set against a gray or gray-blue sky can be compelling.

I came across this Meadowlark recently on an overcast morning.

The setting delighted me because the Meadowlark’s yellow throat, breast, and abdomen stood in sharp relief against the monochromatic background.

As a bonus I was very fortunate to capture the bird while it was singing.

I’ll not hazard a guess as to which species this Meadowlark belongs to. There are three Meadowlark species that show up in southern Arizona: Eastern, Western, and the newly classified Chihuahuan. They resemble each other closely (the Eastern Meadowlark has a paler face than the other two species possess) and the Chihuahuan differs from the others, apparently, less in appearance than in song. So, I’ll stick with “Meadowlark.”

Images made with a Canon R5, Canon EF 400mm f4 DO II lens+Canon EF 1.4x telextender, M setting (auto ISO), ISO 1600, f5.6 @ 1/3200, +2 1/3 stops exposure compensation.