A tiny hummingbird is perched on a thin, curved branch in a softly lit natural setting. The bird is very small, with a slender, straight beak and a noticeable spiky crest on top of its head, giving it a slightly “punk” or tufted appearance. Its feathers are dark but iridescent, shimmering with green tones across its head and upper body. The wings and tail appear darker, with hints of brown or bronze. The bird is facing left, sitting calmly and upright, gripping the branch with tiny feet. Below and slightly in front of the bird, there are delicate white flowers with yellow centers, clustered along thin stems. The background is heavily blurred (a soft green and beige bokeh), suggesting foliage and possibly trees, which makes the bird stand out sharply in the foreground. The lighting is gentle and natural, highlighting the bird’s glossy feathers and giving the scene a peaceful, almost ethereal quality. Photo Credit: ©Gregory Rothman 2026

An #AntilleanCrestedHummingbird is today’s #BirdOfTheDay alt themed #TreePerchers. That’s pollen on the beak, yes?

#EastCoastKin #Birds #Dominica #PhotographersUnited #wildlife #NikonZ8

A most beautiful hummingbird perched on a branch in the garden of a relative in St Lucia. Iridescent shades of green framed by black feathers. The crest of feathers upright like a mohican.

A sudden return trip to St Lucia for the final Rite of Passage for my father. Yesterday, I looked out of my window. This beauty was looking back at me.

#Birds #Ornithology #AntilleanCrestedHummingbird #Hummingbird #Photography #wildlifephotography

Antillean Crested Hummingbird in the Ixora On our last morning in Bequia, Bhavna spotted an Antillean Crested Hummingbird feeding among the red Ixora blooms at the Bequia Beach Hotel.

#birds #antilleancrestedhummingbird #bequia #birdsofthecaribbean #grenadines

Antillean Crested Hummingbird in the Ixora On our last morning in Bequia, Bhavna spotted an Antillean Crested Hummingbird feeding among the red Ixora blooms at the Bequia Beach Hotel.

#birds #antilleancrestedhummingbird #bequia #birdsofthecaribbean #grenadines

Antillean Crested Hummingbird in the Ixora The bird hung in the air, wings a blur, the metallic green of its body catching the sun in shifting fragments of light. Above its head, the small crest—dark at first glance—flashed deep blue as it tilted, each feather edged so fine it looked brushed by hand. Along its throat and chest, green-gold tones rippled and faded with every slight movement, as if the colour itself were alive. Bhavna and I were returning from breakfast at the Sugarapple Inn. It was our last day on Bequia. As we crossed the yard of the Bequia Beach Hotel, heading back toward the beach to reach our cottage, Bhavna’s gaze caught on a flicker of movement among the Ixora shrubs. She slowed, pointed, and there it was—the Antillean Crested Hummingbird, no more than a few metres away. Antillean Crested Hummingbird (Orthorhyncus cristatus) · Thursday 15 May 2025 FujiFilm X-T3 · ISO 8000 · 1/1000 sec XF150-600mmF5.6-8 R LM OIS WR · 600 mm · f/14 It hovered with precision, dipping its long bill into a cluster of red blooms. Ixora, rich in nectar, offers the concentrated sugars a bird like this needs to sustain the constant motion of its tiny body—its heart beating hundreds of times a minute. In the wild, it would also seek heliconias, hibiscus, and other tropical flowers, each visit feeding it and carrying pollen between blooms. Small insects—gnats, fruit flies, tiny spiders—make up the rest of its diet, taken mid-air or plucked from leaves in quick, darting snatches. The garden around us felt unhurried, the colours deepened by the morning sun. Glossy leaves caught the light, the Ixora’s reds almost glowing against the green. A faint wash of surf came from beyond the sand, mingling with the dry rustle of palm fronds above. Antillean Crested Hummingbird (Orthorhyncus cristatus) · Thursday 15 May 2025 FujiFilm X-T3 · ISO 8000 · 1/1000 sec XF150-600mmF5.6-8 R LM OIS WR · 600 mm · f/14 The hummingbird worked methodically, lingering at each flower for only a second or two before pulling back to hover, crest flicking with the movement. Each shift revealed a different facet of its plumage—sometimes brilliant and iridescent, sometimes muted—as the light caught or slipped away. Its wings moved too fast to see, more a tremor in the air than a sound, a soft pulse that seemed to hold the moment in suspension. We stood still, careful not to close the space between us. The bird’s movements were both confident and watchful, each hover no more than a breath before the next dart forward. Then, as quickly as it had appeared, it rose higher, crest catching one last glint of light, and vanished over the shrubs toward the edge of the hotel grounds—perhaps to another garden, another set of blooms. The Ixora trembled faintly in its wake, the morning returning to its slower rhythm. * * * These photographs were made using the updated camera setup I described Birds, Bequia, and the Lens. ### Like this: Like Loading... Birds Travel Antillean Crested Hummingbird Bequia Bequia Beach Hotel Birding Birding Lifer Birds of the Caribbean Friendship Bay Grenadines Ixora Coccinea Lesser Antilles Orthorhyncus cristatus Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Tropical Birds Windward Islands

#birds #antilleancrestedhummingbird #bequia #birdsofthecaribbean #grenadines

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