Snapshot Serengeti Talk

Insect, bird, bat in night-photos in Extended Survey season

  • maricksu by maricksu moderator

    We would like to have information about the following.

    We already know that when mammals are moving fast at night, their eyes show straight line in image. e.g. ASG001qsat , ASG001t8fc , ASG001t4u5 .

    But I am not sure how insects, birds, bats etc. differentiate in this cameratype at night?

    Here a few to compare

    ASG001oku5 , ASG001tf9r , ASG001tczn , ASG001s52d , ASG001phxg , ASG001pst8 , ASG001sixf , ASG001s572 , ASG001om7g , ASG001rlw1

    Posted

  • davidbygott by davidbygott moderator

    Such images are known as 'rods' and originally attracted the interest of cryptozoologists and UFOlogists as possible alien life forms!! These cameras produce a fairly slow IR "flash" which is why we see a lot of motion blur at night. The flash may capture several wingbeats of a flying animal, giving a 'segmented' appearance. In general insects have faster and more regular wingbeats than bats, so an insect image would have more of these 'segments'. But I am not yet sure how to make the distinction.

    Posted

  • maricksu by maricksu moderator in response to davidbygott's comment.

    Thank you David for all this interesting and helpful information! 😃

    Posted