A Rare Glimpse

As far as my BirdCam experience has gone, there are two kinds of hummingbird photos: wings-ablure and wings-folded-up. That was, until I picked up this photograph yesterday. For the first time I have been able to see wings extended, but not in motion. They look all the world to me like bat's wings. I am reminded of the flying monkeys in Wizard of Oz. But these are surely very fragile things, more akin to an insect's. This photo makes me marvel at the astonishing biological machinery of this creature: how strong those muscles are - how remarkable are the wings. And this is another demonstration of the power of the Wingscapes BirdCam, allowing us to glimpse, if briefly, a wonderful thing.