Camera: Nikon Z6II

Lens: Sigma 150 - 600

Aperture: 6.0

Shutter speed: 1/2500

ISO: 400

Description: The image of the Southern ground hornbill gulping an egg of a plover. We were lucky to find the hornbills looking around for food gulping on one thing after another. A grasshopper, a locust and an egg

Story from behind the lens: We were following the Cheetah's long enough when we decided to find the Southern ground hornbill known for being in grasslands and woodlands. Thanks to our guide Leshan, we found it in a group of three, systematically looking into different shrubs one by one. I was hoping to capture the bird as it gulps on insects found in the shrubs and the savannas. I set my shutter to 2500 to be able to get the exact point when the insect is in the air in-between the beak as it goes down. Much to my surprise, I saw the bird approaching a plover egg. I immediately set my camera to capture the moment where the bird could pick up the egg which they did. The image shows the exact moment in which the egg is between the beaks being gulped by the southern ground hornbill.