Pelican Swallows Pigeon! Is image fake or not?

I noticed this too in a recent BBC news report. A photographer in a park saw a pelican grab a hapless pigeon and the thing struggled and flapped for 20 minutes with kids gawking horrified until the pelican managed to swallow it beak first!



Well, that's one way to deal with the pigeon problem! Still, the dropping of a pelican are said to be able to cover a fair size dog in one bombing run!

However, I am suspicious of the white line behind the neck of the pigeon. Is this doctored?

I heard the was a video too. Still I'm not utterly convinced.

Asher

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/6083468.stm

The story was picked up by the Daily Mail in London:

"Families strolling through a London park were left shocked when a pelican picked up and swallowed an unsuspecting pigeon.

The Eastern White pelican struggled with the desperately frantic pigeon in its beak for more than 20 minutes before swallowing it whole.

The moment was caught on camera by photographer Cathal McNaughton, who was taking pictures of the wildlife in St James's Park.

The pigeon was still alive when it reached the pelican's stomach, he said."

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/li...70&ico=Homepage&icl=TabModule&icc=picbox&ct=5

Well, there's a video!

http://axiomsun.com/home/video/pelican_attempts_to_swallow_a_pigeon_whole.html

I don't know that the two pigeons are related!

I really question the first picture!

Asher

THe original image does look posed. The white line is a normal jpeg type artifact that occurs between high contrast areas, but I would expect to see others around the birds bill and background. The pidgeon looks too calm, I'd expect a few loose feathers, and from the film, and reports, the bill was only opened a few instances. It may be a processed video frame, but I think it is unlikely to be straight from camera, tending towards 'graphic art'

Best wishes, Ray

Ray,

I thought about the bird in the mouth being too calm! standing their like he's thinking, LOL!

Especially the pixels in the lower neck are one straight line with out intermediate shaded pixels. Seems like a cut out without much feathering!

It seems that this still picture was created AFTER the video. I'm not certain that this was even the same location. Also, why wer'nt there other people giving eye witness accounts to the BBC?

Asher

High Asher,

wrt eye witness accounts, I can't say in this instance, but I suspect someone phoned in, emailed the video, whatever. I doubt if the bbc would send out a reporter to the scene, or do much really, other than edit the video into a reasonable time slot, and do a voice over if required. I do not think the video is faked, other than being edited time wise, maybe image stabalised, but the still image has been doctored I reckon.

Best wishes,

Ray

Yes Ray, your right. The video is entirely convincing.

I think the reporter, knowing about the previous incident (if indeed as I suspect they are two separate reports), faked the still picture.

I cant see how one gets the straight line of white pixels otherwise.

We do need to check the dates of the video v. the still!

Asher