Purple-crowned Fairy Bathing C-RICA SER 2 (Heliothryx barroti)

On this third trip to Costa Rica, I observed several species of hummingbirds bathing, surprise observations for me. This photo and photos of other species bathing (to be uploaded) were taken under difficult circumstances. The birds go to bathe late in the day. I stood on a platform at the heavily forested upper rim of a 15-20 m deep gorge with a small fast-flowing stream with quiet pools (where the birds bathed) at the bottom. It was very dark at the bottom, necessitating use of flash with a beam narrowed and intensified by a Visual Echoes beam narrower. The resultant photographic quality is poor, but I upload these photos to document a form of hummingbird behavior that is unfamiliar to most birders.