Happiness is catching raindrops.

Thick-billed Euphonia

Number 7 in my "Sing your heart out" series

This sequence of photos followed yesterday's photo. "The Hummer and the Brose," The Rufous Hummingbird got too close and the honey bee showed his ire by chasing him. There were another 8 photos omitted because they were similar to ones you see here. The distance traveled in the attack was about 2 feet and the chase lasted almost 2 seconds. The bee was the aggressor. I have seen many chases like this and the bee never stings. Yellowjackets on the other hand are bastards and the hummers know it; they flee the area at high speeds to avoid being stung.

Multi-flash Hummingbird Setup: www.flickr.com/photos/egofreed/45147025232/in/album-72157...

Adult male

Yellow-headed blackbird-08821-Edit

This small tanager is endemic to the mountains of Colombia.

Male yellow-headed blackbird foraging for bugs in the grass and white clover.

I found a four-leaf clover in a patch of poison ivy. I developed a rash of good luck

The fourth photo in my Columbian tanager series

Número nueve en mi serie Colombian Tanager

Honeysuckle

Multi-flash Hummingbird Setup: www.flickr.com/photos/egofreed/45147025232/in/album-72157...

Number 14 in the "Take Wing" series

Although the Red-breasted merganser is the fastest flying duck (100mph) they still require a running start and a long runway to reach take-off velocity.

Leroy: Falconer's bird

Leroy, falconer's bird

Number 8, Head-on Series

Not quite head-on but he's banking toward me

Finley; Falconer's bird

Female. Notice the tip of the bill, perfect for cutting holes at the base of flower, accessing the nectar and failing to pollenate.

Spotted towhee

Composite

Four of a kind: Black-chinned hummingbirds

Multi-flash Hummingbird Setup: www.flickr.com/photos/egofreed/45147025232/in/album-72157...

I think she off to an audition with Bolshoi production of Swan Lake

Canada geese

Number 10 and the end of my Columbian Tanager series. I will post more Tanager photos as I get to them.

The fastest duck in flight at 100mph. Canvasback second at 72 mph

Second in my series of uncolorful but interesting birds photographed in Columbia. From yesterday's comments, I need to clarify that the birds in this series have limited colors when compared to the gaudy-colored birds of the tropics and the previous 15 bird photos in my stream.

International Ornithological Committee, split the magnificent hummingbird into two species, Rivoli's hummingbird and Talamanca Hummingbird.

Close Encounter of the Bird Kind

"Phalaropes reverse the usual sex roles in birds: Females are larger and more colorful than males; females take the lead in courtship, and males are left to incubate the eggs and care for the young." Audubon Field Guide

Common name: Goblin Blanket Flower

Botanical name: Gaillardia Goblin

female

Fifth in my series of uncolorful but interesting birds photographed in Columbia. That upswept bill with a hook at the tip is designed to pierce the base of a flower, gaining access to the nectar, and thus avoiding pollinating the flower.

Number 3 in my "Sing your heart out" series

While not as energetic looking as the previous few songsters, he is indeed calling for a mate. The Field sparrow song resembles a ping-pong ball bouncing on a tabletop until it speeds up to a stop.

Field sparrow-02017

Sixth in my series of uncolorful but interesting birds photographed in Columbia. That upswept bill with a hook at the tip is designed to pierce the base of a flower, gaining access to the nectar, and thus avoiding pollinating the flower.

Common merganser hen and the smaller hooded merganser hen

There's no bee in Rose! There is in this one.

The Rufous hummingbird is taking a close look but the bee wasn't happy about that and went after the him. I'll post a chase series soon.

Multi-flash Hummingbird Setup: www.flickr.com/photos/egofreed/45147025232/in/album-72157...

a small hummingbird with an exceptionally long tail

Leroy: Falconer's bird

as the female Rufous hummingbird takes nectar from the penstemon, she triggers the anther and pollen is stamped on her bill

Multi-flash Hummingbird Setup: www.flickr.com/photos/egofreed/45147025232/in/album-72157...

Birders frequently refer to sparrows as LBRB, Little Brown Round Birds. While their earth-tone colors understate their beauty, their songs are interesting and wonderous. The Vesper Sparrow's love song is a musical jumble consisting of slurred notes, whistles, trills, and ending with a buzz.

If you listen to the following recording from Cornel Labs, imagine their song repeated several times in a row.

www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Vesper_Sparrow

Number 8 in my "Sing your heart out" series

Vesper sparrow-01876

Looking dapper, a pied-billed grebe displays his chest and splashes to impress the girls