SNAPSHOT

Photographer Brett Swain was looking for elk and white-tailed deer in late winter near the National Bison Range north of Missoula when he saw these five Hungarian partridge, feeding in a snow-covered stubble field close to the road. “I watched them for about 45 minutes,” says Swain, who lives near Kalispell. “That one bird moved off to the side and stood there watching, while the other four continued feeding. I waited until the others were down and snapped this image. I like the juxtaposition of the one bird with the others—I call this shot ‘The Sentinel’—and also how the snow acts as a blank canvas so you can see the feather color and detail with no visual distraction.” n