Camera Talk - Meet The Tiny Trooper

??Meet the?White-Necked Jacobin Hummingbird. These birds are HIGH ACHIEVERS and an enigma. They have an average 4 to 5-year life span travels about 2000 miles one way for breeding purposes.?

Not very friendly (termed anti-social) and has a phenomenal memory. Really! I find them fascinating to watch. The iridescent plumage is so colourful, they are thrilling to photograph. (A difficult subject to photograph because of their constant movement). (Ingredients required are patience and oodles of luck).?

The photograph - White-necked Jacobin - you see in the gallery was taken in Sarapiqui, in CostaRica. While researching and planning the trip to CostaRica, National Geographic had recommendations on visiting Dave and Daves Nature Park to see the hummingbirds' real close-up and was so glad to have followed the advice. ?

?Hummingbirds prefer the equatorial climate and hence mostly settled in central America. There are over 300 different species of hummingbirds. All of them are acrobats as they fly forward, backwards and upside down as well. Weighing just under 4 gms at an average this tiny bird needs a lot of food and it is estimated that they visit over 1000 flowers a day just to keep their metabolism ticking (Just to put things in perspective - a whisky bottle cap weighs about 6 to 8 gms!)?

By any definition the hummingbird is tiny. But the question I ask ... is it really tiny??

is tiny...tiny? Your turn to comment below.

Srini Balram Photography

(In case you are planning to visit CostaRica I might be able to help with some ideas. Please email me if you want to).