Fly By

(Madera Canyon back blip)

On a recent blip, I mentioned that this bird was originally named Magnificent but had been split into two separate species. It's found from Arizona to Nicaragua. The other Magnificent is found in Costa Rica and Panama. The northern one is now the Rivoli’s Hummingbird and the southern one is named the Talamanca Hummingbird. The Rivoli's is named after France's 2nd Duke of Rivoli.  Interestingly, the Anna's hummingbird is named after the Duchess of Rivoli, his wife.  Most other hummingbirds' names make more sense as they feature some characteristic of the bird like its bill, wings or colors.

I tossed in a shot of another Red-naped sapsucker.  I'm sure you can (or have) figured out what the most common birds were there this trip by the ones I've been posting.  I caught a few lousy shots of other birds, like an Hepatic Tanager, but I wasn't equipped with a proper lens (and tripod).

The sunlight has been brilliant and I'm getting really good at making sure I'm catching it just right on the birds. Well, maybe more lucky than good.  :-)