More of Ecuador's hummingbirds!

It is not a secret that the trochilidae (hummingbirds) is one of my favorite families, second only after the tanagers... and Ecuador definitively is hummingbirds' heaven... there are so many and so easy to see!!!  Rafael Cortes, Chema, Washington and your blogger host were descending from the Yanacocha Reserve, taking the Eco-ruta del Quinde (the old Quito-Nono-Mindo road), stopping at some sites with hummingbird feeders that simply blow your mind.  Take a look at the hummingbirds we saw at Tony Nunnery's place... after paying the entrance fee, we entered a completely unreal world... even common species like this Buff-tailed Coronet looked superb!

The Fawn-breasted Brilliant is also common and widespread... not always you get in the photo the attractive rose feathers of its throat.

Another widespread species, but always nice to see, is the Collared Inca.  This male is simply beautiful!

The Speckled Hummingbird was very shy... this shot is the only one I got of it at a feeder (compare with my hummingbirds gallery from Colombia).

The fabulous Booted Racket-tail was the only life hummingbird for me at that moment... here, represented by its western andean slope form (with white "boots").  Even the female is an adorable little creature!

The White-tailed Hillstar was also represented by a western andean slope form (with orange malar).  This individual stayed under the building for several minutes.

Even more impressive... many Choco specialties were simply very easy to see at these feeders (I only got quick views of most of them in my previous trip to Colombia).  One of the most impressive was the Violet-tailed Sylph... what can I say?

These two shots of a male Purple-bibbed Whitetip show quite well why it is called that way.

Even those with such a boring name like Brown Inca demonstrated that they can be colorful as well!

It is always nice to see woodstars... but the Purple-throated Woodstar is restricted to the Choco region (although it reaches eastern Panama).  If you want to see its purple gorget... watch the last photo.

Crazy don't you think... and I still have to show you the most spectacular hummingbird of the trip... in another post, so keep tuned!

Río Blanco´s Hummingbirds Gallery

Just a minimal sample of the hummingbirds found at Casa Viveros in Río Blanco Hydrological Reserve above the city of Manizales (Caldas), Colombia, during the couple of hours that we stayed in the reserve.

A Speckled Hummingbird welcomed us. Usually they spent most of its time in the surrounding flowers, often visiting the feeders.The Tourmaline Sunangels were common in the garden. With a suitable light, this hummer is spectacular! We only saw males.

A bad photo of a great bird. This male Collared Inca was, indeed, spectacular.

Both males and females White-bellied Woodstars avoided the more crowded feeders, perhaps because of its tiny size. The males produce an audible hmmmm... just like a big bee.

The Green Violetears reminded me western Panama. We also saw Sparkling Violetears, allowing great side-by-side comparisons.

The Fawn-breasted Brilliant only often showed its pink breast feathers. It should not be confused with the next species.

The Buff-tailed Coronets were the most common hummers in the feeders.

We saw at least three males Long-tailed Sylphs, really awesome birds! Its incredible irridiscent tail is only comparable to that of the Violet-tailed Sylph, which we saw the two previous days.

P.D.: if you want to know the full story of my first birding trip to Colombia, read Birding in Colombia and then just follow the linked text at the end of each post. Enjoy!