Hummers - 05

The agility of a hummingbird is beyond compare in my view. The only competitor for this title might be a bee but feather control sure seems more difficult than a structured wing like the bee. The hummingbird is controlling each feather like a finger.

As the bird dives in to a target (typically another bird), they often pull up into a hover like the photo yesterday. The first photo shows the bird putting on the brakes at the end of a dart. The photo taken after this one (1/20 sec later) has the bird in the upright position. The speed of flight control is hard to imagine (not to mention the camera keeping focus)! The light reflecting off the throat feathers (gorget) make this photo extra special. The bright red color comes from iridescence as the actual color is a rather dull red/brown.

The second photo shows the incredible agility and control of the wings. Here the bird is making a sharp turn and you see the wings in very different positions from each other to make such a turn. Even a 1/3200 second exposure is not nearly enough to freeze the wing movement in such flight.

Thanks,

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