Chiapas and Oaxaca, Mexico July 2015 |
From July 11-23, 2015, Sheridan and I spent four days in the central Chiapas area as part of the GBNA biennial meeting, and then a week in south/central Oaxaca as part of a private group, ably organized and lead by Michael Retter.
This Beautiful Hummingbird [Sheartail] Calothorax pulcher was attending some flowering agaves outside a small Mezcal distillery next to the highway east-southeast of Oaxaca City.
The following photos illustrate how small this bird is compared to a Dusky Hummingbird (a typical Amazilia). It was somewhat adept at hiding behind the agave flower clusters in the blind spot of the larger hummers - but eventually it would be spotted and chased away:
I think that the tail shape indicates a young male rather than a female - ?:
It is one thing to photograph a tiny hummingbird as it hovers - but quite another to photograph it during its horizontal directional flight!
