ML20905881

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Media notes

(All rights reserved to Alexander Clark)

Observation details

This Central American endemic was a major goal of mine to photograph while in Costa Rica. This bird, being difficult to find let alone photograph, was a real treat to see up close. Over a period of about 3 hours, I was finally able to achieve shots by predicting its movements. Often, when this particular Garden Emerald would be chased off by the resident rufous-tailed hummingbird, he would return to this perch every so often in the midst of the bush. -Garden Emerald (Chlorostilbon assimilis) -Photo taken Sept. 6, 2015 near Turrialba, Costa Rica around 8:30am (total viewing time was aprox 2 hours of feeding. -Appears to be adult bird based on plumage -Behavior: Feeding from a section of verbena flower while constantly on the watch for a rufous-tailed hummingbird that would usually chase it away whenever it would be seen. This bird moved very quickly as it fed, almost insect like, similar to a snowcap. -The garden emerald and the snowcap were within 2 feet of one another at points without fighting each other. The only threat appeared to be the rufous-tailed hummingbird. The Garden Emerald, while feeding, appeared to also bob its tail occasionally while letting out a high-pitched "peep" as well. Very quickly moving, only staying at a flower for maybe 2 seconds at a time until moving to the next one.

Technical information

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