Watch the birdie

Wow, what a great pic! Really put a smile on my face.

That's a brown-eared bulbul.

Beautiful shot Marven

That bird's not admiring the plum blossoms, it's just looking for food.

Bibiru bulbul (fearful) !

Those are not plum blossoms... They are cherry blossoms!

pamelot - Nope, they be plum blossoms. Gotta wait a few more weeks for the cherry blossoms.

They are not plum blossoms. Wait or not, those are cherries.

Incorrect information, as some readers have pointed out.

A brown-eared bulbul perches on the branch of a cherry tree (not blossom tree).

It is early for cherry to blossom: maybe this is not a recent pic.

This is a ヒヨドリ.

Beautiful!

Nice picture!

It must be there to renew its visa.

nikoniko78 is right. It's Hiyodori, scientific name Hypsipetes amaurotis. Recently they breed in urban area.

nikoniko78 is right. It's Hiyodori, scientific name Hypsipetes amaurotis. Recently they breed in urban area.

In other words, Brown-eared Bulbul!

Was this pic taken last year? Seems a bit early for this??

The suddenly warm weather in places is causing trees to bloom way early, then the blossoms die when the weather cools back down. This might be the case here.

yes a bulbul originally from NAmerica like the bullfrogs & crayfish, these tweetys always munch the sliced mikan I put in my yard for the meijiro & other nicer tweety`s knocking them off the tree where my dog happily eats the mikan LOL!!

Sttebn wrote: "It is early for cherry to blossom: maybe this is not a recent pic."

Not everyone lives near Steen and cherry blossoms do not blossom at the same time all over Japan or the World. I saw them earlier this year in OKINAWA - in February.

tokyocris wrote: "Was this pic taken last year? Seems a bit early for this??"

No. It could have been taken this year, SOUTH of Tokyo. Or do you assume that where you live is the DEFACTO standard for cherry blossom season?

Wake up people - it's a big world out there!

The picture was taken last Sunday February 28th at 3:41PM during a professional photo shoot in the above mentioned park with a Canon EOS 7D / EF 70 - 300mm DO IS USM Lens zoomed all the way in to 300mm at ISO 100 / Shutter 1/250 at f5.6. Don't know what blossoms they are but was told by Japanese friends who know that they were Plum Blossoms and that the bird was a "Uguisu". There just enough time to change to the aforementioned telephoto lens and catch the bird before it flew off.

I think arguing about what the blossoms are and what the bird is kind of misses the point of the picture. I only provided the details about the day it was taken so at the very least, that point can be taken out of the equation. Please enjoy the picture. Thanks, the photographer.

Everyone comments about Someiyoshino as sakura. Not all sakura is Somei Yoshino, a hybrid species. Some other species blooms earlier than them. (For example Kawazuzakura is full bloom now. But this is not Kawazuzakura.)

Edohigan which blooms in middle March every year has bloomed earlier than usual?

By the way hiyodoris aka ... are in mating season. They are screaming in parks in towns. Noisy.

They are plum blossoms. It says so in the caption. The timing is pretty spot on for plum tree blossoms.

It is a nice photo, BTW. Feels like spring!

DK9

Decent pic, definitely not an uguisu! They are much smaller & taking the bulbul pic wud be much much easier than getting an uguisu as they a tiny constantly move & like thick cover so you cud try all winter & be lucky to get a few decent shots

for those interested here is one

http://qpon.quu.cc/tori/uguisu1.htm

Centuries ago plum blossoms were the BIG DEAL in blossom viewing in Japan until some Shogun decided that he liked cherry blossoms better. The entire country folowed his lead and now no one bothers to look at the poor, neglected plum tree. So sad!

they were Plum Blossoms and that the bird was a "Uguisu".

"Ume ni Uguisu"? HAHAHA...

It's the design of Hanafuda(flower card), Japanese playing card. Uguisu, is yellowish green bird. http://www.k3.dion.ne.jp/~toritosi/meji11.jpg

I wonder if there is a construction site right behind the tree.

Only know what I was told. I'm not a nature photographer by trade and I appreciate the correction. I'm really not sure what kind of bird it is, I just know it was beautiful.

Beautiful!

It's Kanzakura, a kind of sakura. Not a plum. http://www5b.biglobe.ne.jp/~s_mori/winter/kanzakura.htm

And the bird is a brow eared bulbul as other posters pointed out. But nightingale sounds nice.

DarkKnightNine I do appreciate the pic. It's great. Arigato for posting it.

"Not everyone lives near Steen and cherry blossoms do not blossom at the same time all over Japan or the World. I saw them earlier this year in OKINAWA - in February."

That and aaaaah... it's a plum blossom...

Thats a gorgeous pic. NICE

What a beautiful color!really nice pic. it makes me feel the coming of spring.

Wow.... there's a lot of know-it-alls on here today.

Beautiful pic photographer, no matter what bldy bird it is or what bldy tree.

My bad... didn't mean to make that part bold... It should say 'what bl#$dy bird it is or what bl#$dy tree.'

To the photographer - I wasn't trying to be a smart aleck about what kind of bird it was...I am an avid birdwatcher and thought you might want to know exactly what bird you photographed. It IS a lovely picture (even though I hate screeching bulbuls :D)

Beutiful pic!!

Good picture composition. Too bad the bird's a bit soft. One of the down sides of using a zoom lens over a fixed lens for photos like these.

40 comments on a picture of a bird. Brilliant!

Such a lovely picture! My compliments to the photographer! This picture should be used for a postage stamp or postcard.

No. It could have been taken this year, SOUTH of Tokyo. Or do you assume that where you live is the DEFACTO standard for cherry blossom season?

I'm just going to be honest and admit to my ignorance... I had no idea they bloomed differently across Japan :-/

Finally, JT has a photo depicting real beauty. That's a wonderful shot!

"I had no idea they bloomed differently across Japan :-/"

... thats a joke right? For a country that makes such a bit deal about forecasting cherry blooms.

@ dejaboo: I know and I truly appreciate the correction. I'm shameful to admit, I had no idea what kind of bird it was. thanks for commenting, dk9

a warm kiss to the photographer

Good picture composition. Too bad the bird's a bit soft. One of the down sides of using a zoom lens over a fixed lens for photos like these.

@ RomeoRamenII: and it's especially difficult to pinpoint a moving subject in sharp focus zoomed all the way in at that focal length while trying to maintain the good composition. if the subject was more cooperative, I probably would have nailed the focus.

@ womanforwomen: Wow! Thanks, dk9

Sarge wrote: "Nope, they be plum blossoms. Gotta wait a few more weeks for the cherry blossoms..."

Could the editors and /or moderators give a definitive answer as to what sort of bird and blossom we're talking about here.

One guy even said "That's not a blossom tree"!

to me the bird looks like a hawk.

Beautiful picture, a very "luck of the moment" sort of catch.

Re whether it's a Plum or a Cherry tree, Wiki has this to say about Plum trees:

The subgenus is distinguished from other subgenera (peaches, cherries, bird cherries, etc) in the shoots having a terminal bud and the side buds solitary (not clustered), the flowers being grouped 1-5 together on short stems, and the fruit having a groove running down one side, and a smooth stone.

Plum/cherry blossoms, whatever people! SPRING IS COMING! YIHAA! Awful, Awful snow and winter is melting away! Bring on Hanami and the intoxication under said plum/cherry blossoms!

These birds are all over around here and definitely not one of my favorites. They let out a loud screech and fly off whenever I come across one.

" was told by Japanese friends who know that they were Plum Blossoms and that the bird was a "Uguisu"."

Hahahaha. Looks nothing like an uguisu.

A couple of years ago a pair of bulbuls built a nest and raised four babies in a tree right outside my window. The nest seemed rather precarious so I slung a bamboo basket underneath to catch any babies that might fall out, and keep cats from climbing the tree. I had a ringside seat from the egg stage to the day the babies flew the nest. Like my very own private nature show. It was great.

I've had a soft spot for bulbuls ever since; whenever I see one, I wonder if perhaps it's one of 'my' babies.....