Sword-billed Hummingbird, Colombia

[Peter Dexter]

Canon 7D w/400 5.6 &580 EX ll

Manual Exposure
1/800
F 8
ISO 800
Flash -1/3
Cropped slightly top and bottom and small fern frond cloned out.

There was no set-up but the bird was feeding from and fighting with a second Sword-biiled over a flowering Abutilon pictom in my gardens.

[Dennis Zaebst]

Lovely image Peter of an amazing bird. Very sharp, great details, and well lit. I am wondering what the natural history/ecology of this bird is, with that very long bill. Very well done!

[Jim Crosswell]

Nice image Peter. I like the subject and sharpness. Composition is challenging due to the long bill.

[Arthur Morris]

Sharp with a good EXP. A more distant background and a less steep angle would have helped. Too tight in the frame; moving back would have reduced the angle of inclination to the bird. Processing is fine.

[Raymond Lee]

Nice details! Definitely not easy to compose with that kind of bill. I wish the perch is a little better. I find the background is a bit harsh.

[Peter Dexter]

Dennis there are some long straight tubed flowers such as some Passiflora species in which the nectar can only be reached by Sword-bills. Arthur and others agree about the framing. Unfortunately I was backed against a wall of my house when I took the photo but I'll try for a more distant shot.

[Arthur Morris]

At Guango, Ecuador this species comes to feeders often but rarely if ever perches....

[Daniel Cadieux]

Cool bird!! This lens performs very well wide-open...one option would have been to open up the aperture - it may have helped with the BG. You may be able to add canvas top and right if you are into that type of processing but you'll need to be careful with processing artefacts if you do that. Love the colours, sharpness, and perching pose!