SUNDAY THOUGHT

 nd if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well.

Psalm 46:10

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Have a Blessed Sunday

SATURDAY CRITTERS

This is a dog I photographed and 3 riders on horsebanck in Cost Rica

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SATURDAY CRITTERS

On my way home from my daughter’s home, I always pass some horses in a field.  Often they are to far to be able to photograph and they do not seem to be interesting in coming over to greet me.

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WEEKEND REFLECTIONS AND THE WEEKEND ROUNDUP

Time for WeekendReflections and The Weekend Roundup and the letter is J and Juxtaposition.  Well I thought how am I going to find a photo for this word!  All my photographs are taken at the Cairns Show.  So the first 2 show riders are JUMPING over fences.  Now JUXTAPOSTION is the act or an instance of placing 2 or more things side by side to compare or contrast and I found 2 photos to fit the bill. (I think).  The first one is 2 Eclectus parrots . The JUXTAPOSITION between the brilliant emerald green plumage of the male and the deep red/purple plumage of the female is so marked that the birds were, until the early 20th century, considered to be different species. 

Usually when birds exhibit reversed sexual dimorphism, it comes with a sex role reversal, in which the males who usually gather food are left to incubate eggs, while the female forages. It is important to note that in the Eclectus, no such sex role reversal occurs. The male still forages, while the female incubates the eggs. Research has shown this dimorphism with no role reversal is a product of the rare nest hollows, and the selective pressures that accompany this.

It is thought that sexual selection has affected these birds in this way in order to provide camouflage for the male, while making the female a beacon, which is not what is usually seen in sexually dimorphic birds.[4] Good nesting sites are rare to come by, so the female's bright coloration alerts other males to females with hollows in the area, with whom they can then mate. It also serves as a signal to other females that the nesting site is occupied

 The male is primarily responsible for obtaining food for the female and chicks, so his green coloration provides adequate camouflage from predators, such as peregrine falcons, while he is in the rainforest canopy in search of food. The male also has UV coloration in his feathers, which allows him to appear extra radiant to females, who are able to visualize the UV spectrum, yet remain camouflaged to predators who cannot. This unique coloration is evidence of an evolutionary compromise between the need to attract and compete for mates, and the risk of predation.

Usually when birds exhibit reversed sexual dimorphism, it comes with a sex role reversal, in which the males who usually gather food are left to incubate eggs, while the female forages. It is important to note that in the Eclectus, no such sex role reversal occurs. The male still forages, while the female incubates the eggs. Research has shown this dimorphism with no role reversal is a product of the rare nest hollows, and the selective pressures that accompany this.

It is thought that sexual selection has affected these birds in this way in order to provide camouflage for the male, while making the female a beacon, which is not what is usually seen in sexually dimorphic birds.[4] Good nesting sites are rare to come by, so the female's bright coloration alerts other males to females with hollows in the area, with whom they can then mate. It also serves as a signal to other females that the nesting site is occupied

 The male is primarily responsible for obtaining food for the female and chicks, so his green coloration provides adequate camouflage from predators, such as peregrine falcons, while he is in the rainforest canopy in search of food. The male also has UV coloration in his feathers, which allows him to appear extra radiant to females, who are able to visualize the UV spectrum, yet remain camouflaged to predators who cannot. This unique coloration is evidence of an evolutionary compromise between the need to attract and compete for mates, and the risk of predation. 

Below is my second photo to illustrate JUXTAPOSITION.

This is my granddaughter stroking one of the calves and I am linking it to James’s STREET PHOTOGRAPHY meme.  

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GOOD FENCES

There were certainly lots of fences for the horses to jump over at the Cairns Show.   it was great fun watching them.

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SATURDAY CRITTERS

These first two shots were murals of cattle at the entrance of the Cairns Show and no show would be complete without the horses on the roundabout.

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GOOD FENCES

There were certainly lots of fences for the horses to jump at the Cairns Show.

 

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SATURDAY CRITTERS

I photographed these two horses one day I was using a back road coming home.

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SATURDAY CRITTERS

Last Saturday I showed you a beautiful stallion that I was privileged to photograph recently but I was also able to photograph all these other horses as well.  They all allowed me into their stables for a nuzzle.

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SATURDAY CRITTERS

This is a beautiful and very friendly stallion that I was privileged to photograph recently.

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SATURDAY CRITTERS

These are some more horses I photographed at a riding competition in Cork, Ireland.

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SATURDAY CRITTERS

I have just returned from visiting cousins in Cork, Ireland and they took me to see their granddaughter Jessie Grace at a horse jumping competition.   She had a clear round.  She is riding a beautiful horse called Scotty.

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WEEKEND REFLECTIONS AND THE WEEKEND ROUNDUP

Time for Weekend Reflections and The Weekend Roundup and the letter is H and Heavenly. One day I visited Millisle Beach in Co Down with a friend on a very calm and peaceful day with only a few people present and I found this HEAVENLY.  My surprise was when I saw a HORSEBOX draw up and a HORSE appeared. The rider walked the HORSE HAPPILY through the water up to HIS HOCKS and I even got a shot of HIS HIND quarters. You can also see a HOUSE in the distance in the penultimate image. The final image is my REFLECTION shot of stones in a pool of water.

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SATURDAY CRITTERS

These are Polish Konik ponies that were photographed recently at the RSPB Portmore Reserve.

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GOOD FENCES

This photograph was taken at the WOW RSPB Centre in Belfast and you can see 6 beautiful Konik Polish ponies that are kept there to help with the management of the grass areas.  The cranes and containers behind the fence are in the Belfast dockland and all are giving me a lovely reflections image.

SORRY I PUBLISHED THIS POST FOR A SHORT TIME BY MISTAKE A FEW DAYS AGO and then took it off again until the correct days.

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