#Neotropics

2026-02-15

birb is either quietly waiting for the precisely perfect moment to let loose with a well-aimed poop or just craning his neck for a look at the pictures they nabbed...

#SilentSunday #Bird #Birding #Rare #Colombia #Neotropics #Photograph #BirdPhotography

In the foreground two slightly out of focus men are involved in a deep discussion, utterly oblivious to the large orange bird in the tree overhead who seems to be craning down for a look at what they're doing. The bird is one of the famous male Andean Cock of the Rocks who perform every afternoon in a reserve in Jardin, Colombia. They are wild birds performing to attract females but this one appears to be more fascinated with the photographers who appear to record the spectacle! Nov 2025. Photo by Peachfront.
2026-02-14

"sharing is caring & all but what if i really don't care that much???" -- rufous-gaped hillstar who doesn't quite get what that pesky green thorntail is doing on the flower

#Birds #Hummingbirds #Birding #BIodiversity #Pollinators #Wildlife #Neotropics #CloudForest

A thick tropical flower is festooned with two hummingbirds. A big one with a flashy bright blue bib is looking down from the top on an encroaching much smaller green birb with a white stripe over her rump and a somewhat pointy tail.  This is the Rufous-gaped Hillstar (note the tomato soup stripe behind birb's bill) versus the tiny female Green Thorntail (note that it's the male of this species that has an actual thorn on his tail). Dona Dora, Colombia. Nov 2025. Photo by Peachfront.
2026-02-11

#WildlifeWednesday quick quiz, can you name this hummingbird in just one note (bonus points if you recognize the out of focus tail in the upper left)

El Zoque, Colombia, answer in Alt Text

#Bird #Birding #hummingbird #wildlife #biodiversity #nature #neotropics #BirdsOfMastodon #Photograph #BirdPhotography

A large green hummingbird with a lot of pollen on her face and a buffy chin is flying across the screen. There is a wash of iridescent blue on the bird's "shoulder" patch area of her long wings.  You could even call that blue "sapphire." In the blurred background is the green forest but also the lower portion of a puffleg with very large white puffs and is that a hint of reddish or copper belly?  Nov 2025. Photo by Peachfront.  (The subject of the photo is the female Great Sapphirewing. The blurred tail belongs to a Coppery-bellied Puffleg).
2026-02-07

"every day is a great day to be a woodpecker, prove me wrong!" -- triumphant male Acorn Woodpecker (Colombian subspecies)

#Bird #Birding #Woodpecker #Biodiversity #Neotropics #Subspecies #Photograph #BirdPhotography #BirdsOfMastodon

An Acorn Woodpecker is posed on an old rotten snag with a hint of golden light shining through the gaps. The Woodpecker has lifted his beak as if to triumphantly show off the kernel of corn he has "captured." He has a restricted red cap on the back of his crown, so we know he is a male. Colombian female Acorn Woodpeckers do not have the red mark. Mirador El Roble, CO. Nov 2025. Photo by Peachfront.
2026-02-05

"chunky with pom pom on head seeks female willing to overlook this fact... am also blessed with the gift of being able to sing like rusty industrial equipment in a high wind..." -- male Andean Cock-of-the-Rock

🤣

#Bird #Birding #Neotropics #RareSpecies #Funny #Photograph #BirdPhotography

A big fat bird with an orange pom pom on its head, to match an orange face, mantle, and underparts is turned in profile to study the viewer with a beady yellow eye. The bird appears beakless because of the quantity of round red-orange plumage on his face. This is the Andean Cock-of-the-Rock. Jardin, CO. Nov 2025. Photo by Peachfront. I moved the background a couple of feet over to put more green in view because the highlights from the afternoon sun would have otherwise been distracting, but, yes, you really get this close to the Cock of the Rocks showing off in Jardin...
2026-02-03

"No, you may not tickle the white belly" -- white-bellied woodstar

🤣

#Bird #Birding #Hummingbird #Pollinator #Woodstar #Biodiversity #Nature #Neotropics #Photograph #WildlifePhotography #BirdPhotography

A vaguely angry-looking tiny hummingbird is hovering. His snow white belly and breast shows off the brilliant purple of his throat and the shimmering green of his upper body plumage. His wings are blurred, and so is the background, suggesting movement.  This is an adult male White-bellied Woodstar, a hummingbird that "bumbles" along as it flies while it makes a bee-like noise  that send bigger hummingbirds out of the way thinking he's an oversized bee. El Bosque GUijara Reserve, Colombia. Nov 2025. Photo by Peachfront.
2026-02-02

what if this lil wanna-be bumble-bee came barreling out of YOUR flower patch?

🤣

#Bird #Hummingbird #Pollinators #Neotropics #Photograph #BirdPhotography #BirdInFlight #Fotomontag #PhotoMonday

A mostly cinnamon and green chubby little hummingbird is barreling away from some yellow-green vegetation. Bird has a vaguely angry expression in her eyes. This is a female Gorgeted Woodstar.  El Bosque Guijara Reserve, CO. Nov 2025. Photo by Peachfront.
2026-01-31

more of the female starfrontlet, when she flies you can see lots of fuchsia sparkle...

same species & probably the same bird as the previous photo

the background with the bright highlights was giving me fits but the bird herself was very cooperative

#Bird #Birding #Hummingbird #Photograph #BirdPhotography #BirdsOfMastodon #Colorful #BIodiversity #Neotropics

A colorful hummingbird is hovering in front of a busy blurred background of green & sky.  She has her wings open to reveal her sparkly pink / fuchsia side belly feathers. This is the female Blue-throated Starfrontlet.  False advertising, her throat is buffy!  El Bosque Guijira Reserve, Colombia. Nov 2025. Photo by Peachfront.
2026-01-31

"some say i am the best bird
those 'some' are correct!" -- modest & unassuming female blue-throated starfrontlet

#Bird #Hummingbird #BIodiversity #FemaleBirds #Photograph #BirdPhotography #Nature #WIldlife #Neotropics

A beautiful perched hummingbird sits on a twig in front of some green broad-leafed vegetation. She has posed in profile to show off the iridescent sapphire blue and fuchsia border of her rump, and her head is turned to give you the full effect of her long bill with her tongue thrust out to make the lower mandible look even longer. Her head is lifted to reveal a calm black eye and a buffy throat. A truly noble pose!  This is the female Blue-throated Starfrontlet. (Yes, I know her throat ain't blue, I don't name 'em, I just identify 'em).  El Bosque Guijira Reserve, CO. Nov 2025. Photo by Peachfront.
2026-01-23

"if i look at u with disdain
consider that my throat is silver
and my wings are gold
and yours
Are NOT" -- haughty silver-throated tanager

#Bird #Birding #Tanager #BirdsOfMastodon #Photograph #Neotropics #BirdPhotography #CloudForest #Cute

A small bird sits on a branch in front of a green forest blurred into background. The bird is bright yellow with a wide silvery throat and nape. The bird's beady black eye suggests skepticism or perhaps disdain but no fear. This is the Silver-throated Tanager. Dona Dora, CO. Nov 2025. Photo by Peachfront.
2026-01-22

"There are other barbets trying to take the food in the feeders you put out for me, I mean wtf, Spot-crowns, Red-headeds... who allowed all those other species???"

despite the size advantage enjoyed by this large barbet, this birb was kept very busy attempting to guard all the fruit feeders at the cloud forest overlook...

#Bird #Birding #Barbet #CloudForest #Neotropics #Photograph #BirdPhotography #Wildlife #Nature #Biodiversity

A toucanlike birb with an olive mantle, dark wings and longish wings, gray beard and scarlet chest sits perched on a rail.  Birb's bill breaks the illusion because it is short and stout, barbet-like rather than toucanlike. This scarlet-eyed birb is the Toucan Barbet.  Dona Dora, CO. Nov 2025. Photo by Peachfront.
2026-01-20

sharing is caring!!!

you don't wanna know how many shots i had to fire off to get an image of 3 nicely spaced hummingbirbs like this -- from left to right-- molting White-necked Jacobin, Steely-vented Hummingbird, Rufous-tailed Hummingbird

#Bird #Birding #Hummingbirds #Biodiversity #Neotropics #BirdIdentification #FlashPhotography #Wildlife #BIrdPhotography #Nature

A photo centered on a large pink and red flower that is hosting 3 hummingbirds of 3 different species-- an immature White-necked Jacobin (left), Steely-vented Hummingbird (center,) and Rufous-tailed Hummingbird (right). Aracauna Lodge, CO. Nov 2025. Photo by Peachfront.
2026-01-19

perhaps because they are so maneuverable, hummingbirds fear nothing & can be one of the easiest subjects for a beginner to practice with

garden hummingbirds used to coming to feeders don't seem bothered at all by flash setups...

#Fotomontag #PhotoMonday #FlashPhotography #BirdPhotography #Birds #Birding #Hummingbirds #Biodiversity #Neotropics #Wildlife

A pink and purple tropical flower at the end of a leafy branch is being approached from the left by a green hummingbird with a long black vertical stripe down her white undersides. On the right, the incoming bird is green with a blue head, white nape, shiny green back and white tail. The left bird is a Black-throated Mango adult female. The right hand bird is the White-necked Jacobin adult, 90% chance he's a male, 10% chance she's a female. (The other 90% of females have a different  plumage.)  Aracauna Lodge, CO. Nov 2025. Photo by Peachfront.
2026-01-18

yesterday i learned about the scheming Heliconia species which has a slot machine pay-off way of doing business -- some slots on the flower have extra sugar, most have none, it keeps the hummingbirds hooked on coming back in hopes of a big pay off...same psychology that gets humans hooked on slot machines & lotteries...

see how he spins? he's thinking, "this is the one, I am SO due"

#AnimalBehavior #Hummingbird #Bird #Heliconia #Nature #Psychology #BirdsOfMastodon #Neotropics

A hummingbird is spinning in mid-air to approach a colorful heliconia flower. The iridescent blue head contrasts with spread snow white tail feathers -- making the bird identifiable as a White-necked Jacobin. The bird is still young, note the white whisker mark & lack of a white nape. Aracauna Lodge, CO. Nov 2025. Photo by Peachfront
2026-01-16

more from my flash photography day...

kind of a tough hummingbird to identify in my opinion, can you name this birb? (answer will be in the AltTxt)

#Bird #Hummingbird #FlashPhotography #BirdPhotography #Photograph #Wildlife #Nature #Birding #Neotropics #BirdIdentification

A shiny but tiny green hummingbird with a straight bill is approaching an equally shiny red flower that is probably as long as the hovering birb.  This is the Steely-vented Hummingbird. Aracauna Lodge, CO. Photo by Peachfront. This was taken by setting up the flash near the flowers or feeders and waiting for the hummingbirds to appear (it did not take long, this is a popular well-maintained feeder spot) and then hitting the trigger...

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