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Wire-crested thorntails are very small hummingbirds from neotropical forests. They are quite subtle when foraging, tending to remain close to or inside flowering bushes, and even the males are hard to see despite their long, streaming tails (females have short tails and white markings). Thorntails are easily intimidated by larger hummingbirds; where I took these pictures they were constantly chased away from feeders by sparkling violet-ears and violet-crowned brilliants. Therefore they spent most of their time feeding on verbena bushes, as in these photos (sharing with white-bellied woodstars and specked hummingbirds. The pictures were taken in a small garden on the Manu road on the eastern slope of the Andes in Peru. |
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