Most of my long-distance photos of small birds are disappointing. The main target is usually tiny and the surroundings, which occupy most of the frame, are often distracting. But, occasionally, I capture an image with an unobtrusive background that not only allows the main subject to stand out, but also hints at the locale -- like this one of a Pied Kingfisher, taken from about 50 feet away along a sandy bank of the Luangwa River, Zambia. The photo was taken with a Nikon D600 and a Nikkor 80-400 mm VR lens at 400 mm. The exposure was f/8 and 1/800 sec (hand-held at ISO 800).