Wire-crested Thorntail Hummingbird

As with yesterday’s White-bellied Woodstar, the Wire-crested Thorntail did not show up until after the cloud forest clouds had begun to drift across the garden at Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge, late in the afternoon, on the Manu Road in the Andes of southern Peru. And I only saw it that once. We were told it favored the flowers at one end of the deck, but that patch was being guarded by a particularly aggressive Sparkling Violetear. The Thorntail apparently had to wait until the Violetear was off chasing another intruder, well away from the flowers, to risk coming in. Of course it could have come in several other times when I was not looking, but I did keep my eye out for it most of the afternoon. This was a case of turn and shoot, and I got a burst of maybe ten shots off before the hummer disappeared back into the brush and trees around the garden. These are the best. Sony RX10iv at 1200mm equivalent (2x Clear Image Zoom). Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr.

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