King Bird-of-paradise displaying male

After breakfast, we went back to the boats only to find that the water level had dropped several feet during the night. This meant that we had to walk through thick slimy mud several feet deep and hope that we did not drop our optics. The prize however was the display site of a King Bird-of-paradise just across the river. A friend who had visited this site a year previously had received hundreds of chigger bites and had advised me to wear socks outside my trousers, additional leech socks and wellington boots as well as every type of chigger spray invented by man. This was duly carried out and I was in position standing in deep mud waiting to see the said bird. It appeared on cue albeit very high in its favourite tree and against a bright grey background. It’s not my greatest photo but I’m not likely to have another opportunity to photograph this incredible bird. I didn’t even get bitten.