By magot-pies brought forth

"It will have blood; they say, blood will have blood:
Stones have been known to move, and trees to speak;
Augurs, and understood relations, have
By magot-pies, and choughs, and rooks, brought forth
The secret'st man of blood. - What is the night?"

- Macbeth, in William Shakespeare's 'Macbeth'

I snapped this wee magpie (Cracticus tibicen) this morning. I knew there was probably too much/too glary sun, but I took it anyway (I couldn't see much as I took the shots, as I didn't stop to change the diopter on the viewfinder; I must have used it last without my glasses on ;-) ).

I was really disappointed when I saw the results, as it was washed out and pretty terrible ... it's amazing what you can do digitally though; I'm actually pretty happy with how it turned out, after shifting the black point and having a tutu with the curves.

Here's a before and after.

According to Bird Watch Ireland: "Magpie is derived from ?Magot Pie?, which first appeared in Shakespeare?s ?Macbeth?." (the quote above).