Curlew (Numenius arquata)

I find the Curlew a tricky bird to photograph; that beak means that, if the bird is not going to be captured in profile, an extended depth of field is desirable if too little focus is going to be avoided. Get the eyes sharp and too often the beak is out; too much DoF and the entire image lacks drama. I just about got away with it in this shot, but what I particularly like about the image is the (accidental) mimicking of the curve of the bird's beak by the reeds in the background.

Canon 1Ds MkII, Canon 100-400mm IS USM lens, 1/800 sec, f/5.6, 400mm at ISO 400