Dramatic photos taken in Ecuador capture an extremely rare hummingbird the split moment it “hangs” onto the elongated beak of a rival bird in the wild.
The sword-billed hummingbird was beaten to the bird feeder in the photographs, taken by Nicolas Reusens, who described the scene as a “once-in-a-lifetime” moment.
The 45-year-old photographer caught the buff-tailed coronet, another species of hummingbird, jump the queue, throwing its sword-billed rival off balance in a bid to snatch a bite to eat.
Nicolas said, “During one of my trips to Ecuador I had the luck of watching a very unusual bird coming to the feeders—the sword-billed hummingbird.
“The small hummingbird wanted to feed, so to prevent the sword-billed from feeding, it perched on its beak to unbalance it. After six intense days, and the very last afternoon, I got one of the most unusual captures of my life.”
