The hummingbirds are famous for various reasons... the smallest birds, the only one that can fly backwards, owners of many records, and, of course, their iridescent plumages. That's right!, I'm still posting about my last trip to northwestern Ecuador along with Rafael Cortes and José María Loaiza, and now is time to post some really spectacular photos of the masters of iridescence. All you need is the right angle of light, for example... this Violet-tailed Sylph at Refugio Paz de las Aves looks pretty dull in the feeder... but when it leaves, you see a flash of color.
Even under poor light conditions, you still are able to see its iridescent tail!
Look at this impressive Empress Brilliant at the feeder... huge (for a hummingbird), size alone is enough to motivate some WAOOOs and AAHHHs.
But if you see carefully... they can show you why they are truly spectacular!
But the REAL master of iridescence is the Velvet-purple Coronet. First a dull photo... that is not easy to get with this bird!
Usually, even the most minimal light is enough to ignite this one! PAM!!! watch how different it can look depending of the light angle! Truly electrical!
These phenomena is common to many hummingbirds... and not only at Paz de las Aves as you could guess, just watch this Green-crowned Woodnymph that was visiting the feeders at the Mirador Río Blanco, in Los Bancos (a little lower than Paz de las Aves).
With adequate light, even common hummers look shiny... check out this Rufous-tailed Hummingbird.
The Green-crowned Brilliant is a close relative to the Empress Brilliant showed above... and it shows also a glamorous glow... the female is also very pretty. We got Green-crowned Brilliants in Panama... but I don't remember seeing them like this!
We also have Green Thorntails back in Panama... but in Mirador Río Blanco... well, they were ridiculously easy!!! Both males and females are common visitors.
I hope you enjoyed this electrical gallery... the hummingbirds rocks!
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