Beauty and the Beast.

This image shows a magnificent Rufous hummingbird, who arrived two weeks ago at our home (elevation about 9000 feet/2743 meters) in the Wet Mountain Range of South-Central Colorado. At this point in time Rufous hummingbirds are already on their way back from their nesting sites in Alaska, returning to warmer locations in the South, sometimes traveling all the way to Central America and beyond. But in between the yearly, truly colossal round trek, these tiny flying aces have an extended stopover in the High Country of Colorado - just in time for the annual blooming of the myriads of wildflowers! Beauty and the Beast: The Rufous hummingbirds are known for their distinctive, iridescent red plumage - but also infamous for their extremely territorial behavior, relentlessly bombarding any other hummingbirds, who the Rufous considers trespassers.
I took this particular photo by positioning myself in a way that the sun was behind the bird in order to have the red feathers illuminated.
ENJOY!!

NIKON Z5 ll with NIKKOR LENS 28-400mm

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