Slaty Flowerpiercer: Miriam’s Quetzals, San Geraldo de Dota, Costa Rica, December 2022 — We had a close encounter with a Slaty Flowerpiercer who was working the plants along Miriam’s back deck in the noon-day mountain sun. The flowerpiercer is so named because it uses its sharp hooked beak to make a small hole at the base of showy flowers to sip the nectar. I have actually seem Mountain Gem Hummingbirds feeding from the holes it leaves behind. It is a plain little bird…slaty…but in good light you can see the abundance of fine feather detail. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. ISO 125 and 250 @ f4 @ 1/500th.