The Long-tailed Silky Flycatcher is not a “flycatcher”…and does not have a particularly long tail…but, hey, who’s counting? It is, in some opinions, the second most beautiful bird in the Talamanca Mountains of Costa Rica (after the Resplendent Quetzal…quite a ways after, but in second place by most accounts). Personally I think both the Talamanca Hummingbird and the Fire-throated Hummingbird give it a run for the money…but maybe those who favor the Silky Flycatcher have a thing about hummingbirds being “real” birds. Hard to say. I do agree that the Long-tailed Silky Flycatcher is a handsome bird. Last year in October when I visited San Gerardo de Dota and Savegre Mountain Hotel, we had trouble finding a Silky, but this year crowds of them were right on the Hotel Grounds every morning, and they were hard to miss. These photos are the last birds I shot in Costa Rica this year, taken while waiting for the bus to arrive to take us back to the airport. For that reason alone they have a bitter-sweet flavor. Sony RX10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode. Processed in Polarr and assembled to a GIF in ImgPlay.