In a Gadda da Vida - Iron Butterfly

Didn't venture too far afield today, just hung around the homestead and captured what I could.

CACTUS in BLOOM

There are 5 fine EUCALYPTUS in the garden
after which the property is named.

Garden Blooms

BUTTERFLY

 

COMMON GROUND DOVE

What a Beauty!

I can see you.

male VILLAGE WEAVER

Starting to change my mind on this one first described as being

Skipper like, but behaving every bit like a Hawk-moth?

 This tiny bird has been buzzing around all week,

 

 but remained unidentified.

 It can only be one of the three Hummers that reside on

Hispaniola, the fourth on the list, Rufous-breasted Hermit

being a rare vagrant.

 Size alone should have been enough, but with nothing

to compare it with, it was thought best to wait.

 It is in fact the 'Second Smallest Bird in the World',

after the Cuban 'endemic' Bee Hummingbird, a

 
VERVAIN HUMMINGBIRD

already seen on this trip in Santo Domingo,

Dominican Republic.

A CREEPER invades a garden tree.

and finally, the Learning Curve continues with the very much appreciated e-Mail from Steve Smith. Seems if I'd stuck to my guns in the first place - oh yeah, blah, blah, blah!

Hi Bagsy,

Lovely photos of the Tody on the blog. However, my money is on Broad-billed Tody. The plates are crap (in Birds of the West Indies) & the supposed breast colouration is more a case of the author's over doing the faint yellow wash on Broad-billed. Have a look at photos on the internet. There are 2 strong pointers I reckon to Broad-billed.
Firstly, habitat - your in dry scrub which is Broad-billed habo - it's more of a lowland species in dry scrub, although we also saw it in the Dom Rep botanical gardens in the capital. Secondly, the bill is generally black tipped on lower mandible. In comparison Narrow-billed in a higher elevation wet forest with pines with a purely red lower mandible.
In Dom Rep we went to the SW of the country & traveling up from the arid lowlands (seeing BB) into the high elevation wet forest with pines after Chat Tanager & La Selle Thrush. As we hit the wet forest we saw our only BBs of the trip.
Wish I'd had a decent camera to get some photos from my trip, but then it was 20 years ago & I was lugging some heavy tape gear around.

Cheers - Steve

The appropriate amendment has been made to yesterday's post with a huge THANK YOU to Steve for taking the time.