Red-legged Honeycreeper Launching from an Arenal Watermelon Feeder

An adult male springs from the red fruit with wings lifted, red legs released and a tiny morsel held at the tip of his curved bill at Arenal Observatory Lodge & Spa in Costa Rica. The slender decurved bill is adapted to fruit and nectar feeding; adult males combine cobalt-blue breeding plumage with a turquoise crown, black mantle and vivid red legs. The exposure of 1/4000 sec, f/5.6 and ISO 2000 freezes the decisive body position and separates the principal wing and tail feathers while retaining only fine traces of motion at the fastest edges; the photograph was made in natural light without flash.