Friday, September 21, 2007

Hamadryas butterfly

I've been trying to get a picture of a hamadryas butterfly for the last few days, but without success. They appear to be unperturbed by human presence, until you get close to them ... and off they go, often time coming back to the same location. More often than not, they are seen resting on the trunks of trees. I know when they are around because the male makes a very distinctive clicking sound. I read that the hamadryas are called "cracker" butterflies because of this sound. Today, I lucked out in getting an image of one. It had landed on one of the supportive timbers of the front porch and I got off one shot of it before it flew away. Surprising enough, it turned out to be in focus. Normally, I shoot a lot of pictures and then choose the best, which isn't always the best. Click on the attached image for a better view of our friend

1 comment:

Olle Pettersson said...

Wonderful species, wonderful picture! And a wonderful sunny morning here i Sweden at 10 local time.
Olle