Daily Archives: April 16, 2023
Costa Rica! Lesser Violetear Hummingbird
Lesser Violetear Hummingbird, Batsu Gardens, San Gerardo de Dota, Costa Rica, December 2022 — The Lesser Violetear is certainly the most aggressive of the hummers of the Talamanca mountains of Costa Rica and Panama (and in other high and lowlands where they live…it is one of the most widely distributed hummers of Central America). It attempts to dominate any food source, and especially feeders. Males apparently spend much more time guarding than they do feeding. (And no, I always feel compelled to point out, there is no Greater Violetear, or even just plain Violetear to compliment (or to justify) the the Lesser part of its name!) This is the male’s aggressive pose…sometimes the ears are flared even more than this. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. ISO 1000 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
India! Rhesus Macaque
Rhesus Macaque: Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India, March 2023 — Probably the most common, and certainly the most often seen, of India’s primates, the Rhesus Macaque likes to live around humans. You find them at temples, at railway and bus stations, city parks, along busy village streets, mixing with the dogs, cattle, and motorbikes…anywhere they might get a handout. They are not, at least to my eye, very cute…and they can be quite aggressive. You do not want to be bitten by one. Large family groups, or troops of mixed matrilineal families are common. This is a male, though perhaps not a mature one, sitting on the boundary wall of Keoladeo National Park. The Rhesus has the largest range of any primate except humans…across India, China, and all of southeast Asia. For better or worse, it has been used extensively in medical research, especially in the development of vaccines and viral treatments. (Maybe “better” for us, maybe not so great for the Rhesus.) Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. ISO 640 and 1000 @ f4 @ 1/500th. Plus 1 EV (left over from adjacent bird shots).