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  • The Culpeo (Lycalopex culpaeus), sometimes known as the Andean Wolf (Spanish: Lobo), or (Common) Andean Fox, or Patagonian Fox, is a South American species of wild dog, seen here at the mountain refuge "José Ribas" on the north face of the Cotopaxi Volcano at 4800 meters (15,750 feet) of altitude in Ecuador. The Culpeo is the second largest native canid in South America after the Maned Wolf. In its appearance it bears many similarities to the widely recognized red fox. It has grey and reddish fur, a white chin, reddish legs, and a stripe on its back that may be barely visible.  Its distribution extends from Ecuador and Peru to the southern regions of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego. It is most common on the western slopes of the Andes, where it inhabits open country and deciduous forests. The Culpeo's diet consists largely of rodents, rabbits, birds and lizards, and to a lesser extent, plant material and carrion. The Culpeo does attack sheep on occasion, and is therefore often hunted or poisoned. In some regions it has become rare, but overall the species is not threatened with extinction. Cotopaxi National Park (Spanish: Parque Nacional Cotopaxi) is a protected area in Ecuador in the Cotopaxi Province, Napo Province and Pichincha Province. Cotopaxi is a stratovolcano in the Andes Mountains, located about 75 kilometers (50 miles) south of Quito, Ecuador, South America. It is the second highest summit in Ecuador, reaching a height of 5,897 m (19,347 ft).
    09ECU-2270_Ecuador.jpg
  • Bolas (from Spanish bola, "ball," also known as boleadoras, or Inca ayllo) are a throwing weapon made of weights on the ends of connected cords, designed to entangling legs and capture animals. Bolas are most famously used by South American gauchos, but have been found in excavations of Pre-Columbian settlements in Patagonia, where indigenous peoples caught guanaco and rhea (ñandú guazu). They have also been found, as a Stone Age lithic tool in North America at the Calico Early Man Site. See a street fair in San Telmo ("Saint Pedro González Telmo"), the oldest barrio (neighborhood) of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
    05ARG-10224.jpg
  • Corn, or maize, is native to the Americas. Peru grows Andean cobs with especially large kernels. South America. Corn was originally the English term for any cereal crop. In North America, its meaning has been restricted since the 1800s to maize, as it was shortened from "Indian corn". The term Indian corn now refers specifically to multi-colored "field corn" (flint corn) cultivars.
    00PER-Maize.jpg
  • Jet window view over Quito. San Francisco de Quito, most often called Quito, is the capital city of Ecuador (and of Pichincha province) in northwestern South America.  UNESCO honored City of Quito as a World Heritage Site in 1978. Quito was founded in 1534 on the ruins of an Inca city. Despite the 1917 earthquake, the city has the best-preserved, least altered historic center in Latin America. This city of 1.4 million people (as of the 2001 census) is located in the Guayllabamba river basin, on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes mountains. In 2008 Quito became headquarters of the Union of South American Nations. The elevation of the city's central square (Plaza de La Independencia or Plaza Grande) is 2850 meters (9350 feet), making Quito the second-highest administrative capital city in the world (after La Paz, Bolivia). The central square of Quito is located about 25 km (15 miles) south of the equator; the city itself extends to within about 1 km (0.6 miles) of zero latitude. A monument and museum marking the general location of the equator is known locally as la mitad del mundo (the middle of the world), to avoid confusion, as the word ecuador is Spanish for equator.
    09EQUCIMG_4067_Quito-Ecuador.jpg
  • A Rufous-tailed Hummingbird (Amazilia tzacatl) feeds at the lower elevations (about 1400 meters) of Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, near Quito, Ecuador, South America. The Rufous-tailed Hummingbird is a medium-sized hummingbird which breeds from east-central Mexico, through Central America and Colombia, east to western Venezuela and south through western Ecuador to near the border with Peru. This is a common to abundant bird of open country, river banks, woodland, scrub, forest edge, coffee plantations and gardens up to 1850 m (6000 ft). The adult throat is green (edged whitish in the female), the crown, back and flanks are green tinged golden, the belly is pale greyish, the vent and rump are rufous and the slightly forked tail is rufous with a dusky tip. The almost straight bill is red with a black tip; broadest on the upper mandible, which may appear all black. Immatures are virtually identical to the female. The female Rufous-tailed Hummingbird is entirely responsible for nest building and incubation. She lays two white eggs in a compact cup nest constructed from plant-fibre and dead leaves 1-6 m high on a thin horizontal twig. Incubation takes 15-19 days, and fledging another 20-26. The food of this species is nectar, taken from a variety of flowers, including Heliconias and bananas. Like other hummingbirds it also takes small insects as an essential source of protein. Rufous-tailed Hummingbirds are very aggressive, and defend flowers and scrubs in their feeding territories. They are dominant over most other hummingbirds.
    09ECU-2190_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • Tom Dempsey photographed this male White-necked Jacobin (Florisuga mellivora; or Great Jacobin; or Collared Hummingbird) hummingbird at the lower elevations (about 1400 meters) of Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, in the "Mindo Area of International Importance for Birds," Tandayapa Valley, near Quito, Ecuador, South America. This large and attractive hummingbird ranges from Mexico south to Peru, Bolivia and south Brazil. The approximately 12 cm long male White-necked Jacobin is unmistakable with its white belly and tail, a white band on the nape and a dark blue hood. Immature males have less white in the tail and a conspicuous rufous patch in the malar region. Females are highly variable, and may resemble adult or immature males, have green upperparts, white belly, white-scaled green or blue throat, and white-scaled dark blue crissum, or have intermediate plumages, though retain the white-scaled dark blue crissum. Females are potentially confusing, but the pattern on the crissum is distinctive and not shared by superficially similar species. These birds usually visit flowers of tall trees and epiphytes for nectar, and also hawk for insects. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    09ECU-2177_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • Los Cuernos soar above Torres del Paine National Park, Chile, South America. "The Horns" (about 2100 meters elevation) are a pinkish-white granodiorite intrusion formed 12 million years ago topped with an older crumbly dark sedimentary rock, exposed by freeze-thaw erosion and glaciation. Beyond a small pond (laguna) is turquoise Lake Nordenskjold. The foot of South America is known as Patagonia, a name derived from coastal giants, Patagão or Patagoni, who were reported by Magellan's 1520s voyage circumnavigating the world and were actually Tehuelche native people who averaged 25 cm (or 10 inches) taller than the Spaniards.  Published in 2008 for a Music Contact International trip brochure for Vermont Public Radio fundraising. Panorama stitched from 2 overlapping images.
    05CHI-10147-48pan_Los-Cuernos_Mirado...jpg
  • Los Cuernos soar above Torres del Paine National Park, Chile, South America. "The Horns" (about 6900 feet or 2100 meters elevation) are a pinkish-white granodiorite intrusion formed 12 million years ago topped with an older crumbly dark sedimentary rock, exposed by freeze-thaw erosion and glaciation. The foot of South America is known as Patagonia, a name derived from coastal giants, Patagão or Patagoni, who were reported by Magellan's 1520s voyage circumnavigating the world and were actually Tehuelche native people who averaged 25 cm (or 10 inches) taller than the Spaniards.
    05CHI-10152_Torres-del-Paine-NP.jpg
  • High winds drive wave clouds over Mount Fitz Roy (3405 meters or 11,170 feet) in the Andes mountains, in Los Glaciares National Park, near El Chaltén village, Argentina, Patagonia, South America. Native Tehuelche (Aonikenk) people called this mountain (and others) Chaltén, meaning "smoking mountain," which is understandable from the frequent orographic clouds. The atmospheric internal waves that form wave clouds are created as stable air flows over a mountain creating an oscillation of uplift and descent. Clouds can form from invisible water vapor turning into white droplets at the cooled crests of internal waves and evaporate (due to adiabatic heating) as the wave descends. First climbed in 1952 by French alpinists Lionel Terray and Guido Magnone, Mount Fitz Roy has very fickle weather and is one of the world's most challenging technical ascents. It is also called Cerro Chaltén, Cerro Fitz Roy, and Monte Fitz Roy (with a space before the R). Cerro is a Spanish word meaning hill. In 1877, explorer Perito Moreno named "Cerro Fitz Roy" for Robert FitzRoy (no space before the capital R) who, as captain of the HMS Beagle, had travelled up the Santa Cruz River in 1834 and charted much of the Patagonian coast. Spanning both Argentina and Chile, the foot of South America is known as Patagonia, a name derived from coastal giants ("Patagão" or "Patagoni" who were actually Tehuelche native people who averaged 25 cm taller than the Spaniards) who were reported by Magellan's 1520s voyage circumnavigating the world. The Patagonia company based their clothing logo on the shape of Mount Fitz Roy, after Yvon Chouinard's ascent and subsequent film in 1968. The town of El Chaltén was built in 1985 by Argentina to help secure the disputed border with Chile. The nearest airport is 220 km south at El Calafate.
    05ARG-50200_wave-cloud_Mt-Fitz-Roy.jpg
  • Near El Chaltén, see Lake Viedma to the south of Loma del Pliegue Tumbada trail, in Los Glaciares National Park, in the southern Andes mountains, Argentina, South America. El Chaltén village was built in 1985 by Argentina to help secure the disputed border with Chile. Chaltén comes from a Tehuelche (Aonikenk) word meaning "smoking mountain" (explained by frequent orographic clouds). The foot of South America is known as Patagonia, a name derived from coastal giants, Patagão or Patagoni, who were reported by Magellan's 1520s voyage circumnavigating the world and were actually Tehuelche native people who averaged 25 cm (or 10 inches) taller than the Spaniards.
    05ARG-50177.jpg
  • Morning light spotlights  Cerro Torre and Cerro Fitz Roy (3405 meters or 11,170 feet), which rises abruptly on the border between Argentina and Chile in the Southern Patagonian Ice Field in the Andes mountains. Visit El Chaltén village for great hiking in Los Glaciares National Park, Argentina, South America. This view from the Loma del Pliegue Tumbada trail is a few kilometers southwest of the park Visitor Center. In 1877, explorer Perito Moreno named "Cerro Fitz Roy" for Robert FitzRoy (no space before the capital R) who, as captain of the HMS Beagle, had travelled up the Santa Cruz River in 1834 and charted much of the Patagonian coast. First climbed in 1952 by French alpinists Lionel Terray and Guido Magnone, Mount Fitz Roy has very fickle weather and is one of the world's most challenging technical ascents. It is also called Cerro Chaltén, Cerro Fitz Roy, and Monte Fitz Roy (all with a space before the R). Chaltén comes from a Tehuelche (Aonikenk) word meaning "smoking mountain" (explained by frequent orographic clouds). Cerro is a Spanish word meaning hill. El Chaltén village was built in 1985 by Argentina to help secure the disputed border with Chile, and now tourism supports it, 220 km north of the larger town of El Calafate. The foot of South America is known as Patagonia, a name derived from coastal giants, Patagão or Patagoni, who were reported by Magellan's 1520s voyage circumnavigating the world and were actually Tehuelche native people who averaged 25 cm (or 10 inches) taller than the Spaniards. Mount Fitz Roy is the basis for the Patagonia company's clothing logo, after Yvon Chouinard's ascent and subsequent film in 1968. Panorama stitched from 2 overlapping photos.
    05ARG-50163-64pan_Cerro-Fitz-Roy_Tor...jpg
  • Morning light spotlights  Mount Fitz Roy (3405 meters or 11,170 feet), which rises abruptly on the border between Argentina and Chile in the Southern Patagonian Ice Field in the Andes mountains. Visit El Chaltén village for great hiking in Los Glaciares National Park, Argentina, South America. This view from the Loma del Pliegue Tumbada trail is a few kilometers southwest of the park Visitor Center. In 1877, explorer Perito Moreno named "Cerro Fitz Roy" for Robert FitzRoy (no space before the capital R) who, as captain of the HMS Beagle, had travelled up the Santa Cruz River in 1834 and charted much of the Patagonian coast. First climbed in 1952 by French alpinists Lionel Terray and Guido Magnone, Mount Fitz Roy has very fickle weather and is one of the world's most challenging technical ascents. It is also called Cerro Chaltén, Cerro Fitz Roy, and Monte Fitz Roy (all with a space before the R). Chaltén comes from a Tehuelche (Aonikenk) word meaning "smoking mountain" (explained by frequent orographic clouds). Cerro is a Spanish word meaning hill. El Chaltén village was built in 1985 by Argentina to help secure the disputed border with Chile, and now tourism supports it, 220 km north of the larger town of El Calafate. The foot of South America is known as Patagonia, a name derived from coastal giants, Patagão or Patagoni, who were reported by Magellan's 1520s voyage circumnavigating the world and were actually Tehuelche native people who averaged 25 cm (or 10 inches) taller than the Spaniards. Mount Fitz Roy is the basis for the Patagonia company's clothing logo, after Yvon Chouinard's ascent and subsequent film in 1968.
    05ARG-50160.jpg
  • A vendor shelf offers calabash gourds fitted with silver straws for drinking mate (or maté), the Argentine national drink (known as chimarrão in Portuguese or cimarrón). Mate is prepared by steeping in hot water the dried leaves yerba mate (llex paraguariensis, known in Portuguese as erva-mate), a natural bitter herb. Genetic research on 8000+ year-old archeological calabash seeds (Lagenaria siceraria) found in America suggests that bottle gourds may have been domesticated earlier than food crops and livestock, and, like dogs, were brought by Paleo-Indians into the New World across a then-existing land bridge between Asia and America at the end of the last ice age. Mate was first consumed by the indigenous Guaraní and also spread by the Tupí people that lived in Southern Brazil (Paraguayan territory before the war of the Triple Alliance). European colonizers adopted yerba mate in the Spanish colony of Paraguay in the late 1500s, and in the 1600s, usage spread to the River Plate (Río de la Plata) and onwards to Chile. Buy a traditional mate-drinking gourd at a fun street fair in historic San Telmo ("Saint Pedro González Telmo"), the oldest neighborhood (barrio) in Buenos Aires, Argentina, South America. Published 2013 in JSE magazine issue #54 in A5 size by Highbury Safika Media, Roggebaai, Cape Town, South Africa.
    05ARG-10209.jpg
  • Quinoa (Spanish: quinua, from Quechua: kinwa), a plant native to the Andes Mountains in South America, has been a staple food since before Inca times. Quinoa is a species of goosefoot (Chenopodium), a grain-like crop grown primarily for its edible seeds. Because it is not a member of the grass family, it is a pseudocereal rather than a true cereal or grain. As a chenopod, quinoa is closely related to species such as beets, spinach, and tumbleweeds. Quinoa originated in the Andean region of Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia and Peru, where it was successfully domesticated 3,000 to 4,000 years ago for human consumption, though archeological evidence shows a non-domesticated association with pastoral herding some 5,200 to 7,000 years ago. Quinoa is gluten-free, is exceptionally high in protein, and is a good source of dietary fiber, phosphorus, magnesium, and iron. The photo is from the end of the Santa Cruz Trek in the Cordillera Blanca, Andes Mountains, Peru, South America.
    00PER-36-Quinoa.jpg
  • Tom Dempsey photographed this male White-necked Jacobin (Florisuga mellivora; or Great Jacobin; or Collared Hummingbird) hummingbird at the lower elevations (about 1400 meters) of Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, near Quito, Ecuador, South America. This large and attractive hummingbird ranges from Mexico south to Peru, Bolivia and south Brazil. The approximately 12 cm long male White-necked Jacobin is unmistakable with its white belly and tail, a white band on the nape and a dark blue hood. Immature males have less white in the tail and a conspicuous rufous patch in the malar region. Females are highly variable, and may resemble adult or immature males, have green upperparts, white belly, white-scaled green or blue throat, and white-scaled dark blue crissum, or have intermediate plumages, though retain the white-scaled dark blue crissum. Females are potentially confusing, but the pattern on the crissum is distinctive and not shared by superficially similar species. These birds usually visit flowers of tall trees and epiphytes for nectar, and also hawk for insects. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    09ECU-2194_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • Fawn-breasted brilliant (Heliodoxa rubinoides) hummingbird. Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, near Quito, Ecuador, South America.
    09ECU-2188_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • A red trumpet shaped flower blooms in Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, near Quito, Ecuador, South America.
    09ECU-2103_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • A sphinx moth (or hawk moth, Sphingidae family, order Lepidoptera) is attracted to night lights in Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, near Quito, Ecuador, South America. Sphingidae is best represented in the tropics but species inhabit every region. Sphingidae are moderate to large in size and are distinguished among moths for their rapid, sustained flying ability, assisted by narrow wings and streamlined abdomen. Some hawk moths, like the hummingbird hawk moth, hover in midair while they feed on nectar from flowers and are sometimes mistaken for hummingbirds. This hovering capability has evolved only three times in nectar feeders: in hummingbirds, certain bats, and these sphingids. Sphingids can swing hover (move rapidly from side to side while hovering). Some of the sphingids are some of the fastest flying insects, capable of flying at over 50 km/h (30 miles per hour). They have a wingspan of 35-150 mm.
    09ECU-1815_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • A Dobsonfly (or king bug, an insect of subfamily Corydalinae, part of megalopteran family Corydalidae) with long black mandibles (pincers) clings to a wood ceiling in Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, near Quito, Ecuador, South America. Their closest relatives are the fishflies. Distributed throughout the Americas, dobsonflies can be rather frightening in appearance. The males have extremely long mandibles and females have shorter mandibles. The most well-known of the numerous species is Corydalus cornutus, the Eastern Dobsonfly, a long, dark-colored insect found in North and Central America.
    09ECU-1795_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • People stroll a street in Quito, Ecuador, Pichincha province, South America. San Francisco de Quito is most often called Quito, capital city of Ecuador and of Pichincha province. This city of 1.4 million people (as of the 2001 census) is located in the Guayllabamba river basin, on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes mountains. UNESCO honored City of Quito as a World Heritage Site in 1978. Quito was founded in 1534 on the ruins of an Inca city. Despite the 1917 earthquake, the city has the best-preserved, least altered historic center in Latin America. In 2008 the city was designated as the headquarters of the Union of South American Nations. The elevation of the city's central square (Plaza de La Independencia or Plaza Grande) is 2850 meters (9350 feet), making Quito the second-highest administrative capital city in the world (after La Paz, Bolivia). The central square of Quito is located about 25 km (15 miles) south of the equator; the city itself extends to within about 1 km (0.6 miles) of zero latitude. A monument and museum marking the general location of the equator is known locally as la mitad del mundo (the middle of the world), to avoid confusion, as the word ecuador is Spanish for equator.
    09ECU-1284_Quito-Ecuador.jpg
  • A volcanic tuff cone rises above Pinnacle Rock on Bartolomé Island (Bartholomew Island), Galápagos Islands, Ecuador, South America. This large black partially eroded lava formation was created when volcanic magma reached the sea and exploded into particles which fastened together into rock comprised of thin layers. Bartolomé Island (or Bartholomew Island, named after Lieutenant David Bartholomew of the British Navy) is one of the geologically younger islands in the Galápagos archipelago, just off the east coast of Santiago (James) Island. The volcanic Galápagos Islands (officially Archipiélago de Colón, otherwise called Islas de Colón, Islas Galápagos, or Enchanted Islands) are distributed along the equator in the Pacific Ocean 972 km west of continental Ecuador, South America. In 1959, Ecuador declared 97% of the land area of the Galápagos Islands to be Galápagos National Park, which UNESCO registered as a World Heritage Site in 1978. Ecuador created the Galápagos Marine Reserve in 1998, which UNESCO appended in 2001.
    09ECU-4315_Galapagos.jpg
  • April 21, 2009: La Cumbre volcano erupts lava into the Pacific Ocean, expanding Fernandina (Narborough) Island, in the Galápagos Islands, a province of Ecuador, South America. This eruption cycle started April 10, 2009 after 5 years of quiet. Fernandina Island was named in honor of King Ferdinand II of Aragon, who sponsored the voyage of Columbus. Fernandina is the youngest and westernmost island of the Galápagos archipelago, and has a maximum altitude of 1,494 metres (4,902 feet). Tourists are allowed to visit Punta Espinosa, a narrow stretch of land where hundreds of Marine Iguanas gather largely on black lava rocks. The Flightless Cormorant, Galápagos Penguins, Pelicans and Sea Lions are abundant on this island of lava flows and Mangrove Forests. The volcanic Galápagos Islands (officially Archipiélago de Colón, otherwise called Islas de Colón, Islas Galápagos, or Enchanted Islands) are distributed along the equator in the Pacific Ocean 972 km west of continental Ecuador, South America.
    09ECU-4137_Galapagos.jpg
  • April 21, 2009: La Cumbre volcano erupts lava into the Pacific Ocean, expanding Fernandina (Narborough) Island, in the Galápagos Islands, a province of Ecuador, South America. This eruption cycle started April 10, 2009 after 5 years of quiet. Fernandina Island was named in honor of King Ferdinand II of Aragon, who sponsored the voyage of Columbus. Fernandina is the youngest and westernmost island of the Galápagos archipelago, and has a maximum altitude of 1,494 metres (4,902 feet). Tourists are allowed to visit Punta Espinosa, a narrow stretch of land where hundreds of Marine Iguanas gather largely on black lava rocks. The Flightless Cormorant, Galápagos Penguins, Pelicans and Sea Lions are abundant on this island of lava flows and Mangrove Forests. The volcanic Galápagos Islands (officially Archipiélago de Colón, otherwise called Islas de Colón, Islas Galápagos, or Enchanted Islands) are distributed along the equator in the Pacific Ocean 972 km west of continental Ecuador, South America.
    09ECU-4032_Galapagos.jpg
  • A map of North and South America shows our flight from Seattle 7000 miles (through Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas) to Buenos Aires, taking 15 hours in the air. Argentina is plus 5 hours jet lag from Pacific Standard Time (West Coast, USA). Our adventure travel in Argentina and Chile lasted from February 3 to March 11, 2005. We flew 1500 miles from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia, on the Argentina side of the island archipelago of Tierra del Fuego. We cruised 12 days round trip through the Beagle Channel and across the rough 400-mile Drake Passage to explore the frozen Antarctic Peninsula. A short airplane flight took us from Ushuaia to working-class Punta Arenas in Chile, where a hired van drove us to the tourist town of Puerto Natales. We hiked the W Route to admire striking mountain scenery in Torres del Paine National Park, Chile. We bused into Argentina to the bustling tourist town of El Calafate, where day rental of a car let us visit the spectacular Moreno Glacier on our own schedule. A bus took us to the fun frontier village of El Chalten where several day hikes explored the awesome Mount Fitz Roy area. A flight from El Calafate returned to Buenos Aires. In Chile, Patagonia includes the territory of Valdivia through Tierra del Fuego archipelago. Spanning both Argentina and Chile, the foot of South America is known as Patagonia, a name derived from coastal giants ("Patagão" or "Patagoni" who were actually Tehuelche native people who averaged 25 cm taller than the Spaniards) who were reported by Magellan's 1520s voyage circumnavigating the world.
    05ARG-00010-map-North_South-America.jpg
  • Day hikes of our 2005 photo collection are shown as pink lines radiating from the frontier village of El Chalten, exploring the Mount Fitz Roy region in Patagonia, Argentina, South America. The foot of South America is known as Patagonia, a name derived from coastal giants, Patagão or Patagoni, who were reported by Magellan's 1520s voyage circumnavigating the world and were actually Tehuelche native people who averaged 25 cm (or 10 inches) taller than the Spaniards.
    05ARG-00002-map-Chalten-Hikes-Argent...jpg
  • Tom Dempsey photographed this Andean emerald (Amazilia franciae) hummingbird in Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, in the "Mindo Area of International Importance for Birds," Tandayapa Valley, near Quito, Ecuador, South America.
    09ECU-2140_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • Large broad leaves grow in Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, near Quito, Ecuador, South America.
    09ECU-2113_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • Heliconia, also popularly known as lobster-claw, wild plantain or false bird-of-paradise, is a beautiful flower with multi-color bracts and varied flower structure. The leaves resemble those of a banana plant. Heliconias are native to the tropical Americas and the Pacific Ocean islands west to Indonesia. Heliconia, formerly included in the family Musaceae, is now the only genus under Heliconiaceae. Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, near Quito, Ecuador, South America.
    09ECU-2093_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • An orange flower blooms from pink foliage in Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, near Quito, Ecuador, South America.
    09ECU-2081_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • White fungi radiates from a tree trunk in Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, near Quito, Ecuador, South America.
    09ECU-2079_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • The Booted Racket-tail (or Racquet-tail; or Racquet-tailed Hummingbird; Latin name Ocreatus underwoodii) in Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, in the "Mindo Area of International Importance for Birds," Tandayapa Valley, near Quito, Ecuador, South America.
    09ECU-2063_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • Tom Dempsey photographed this Collared Inca (Coeligena torquata) hummingbird in Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, near Quito, Ecuador, South America. This species is found in humid Andean forests from western Venezuela, through Colombia and Ecuador, to Peru.
    09ECU-2047_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • Tom Dempsey photographed this fawn-breasted brilliant (Heliodoxa rubinoides) hummingbird in Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, in the "Mindo Area of International Importance for Birds," Tandayapa Valley, near Quito, Ecuador, South America.
    09ECU-2046_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • Tom Dempsey photographed this Violet-tailed Sylph (Aglaiocercus coelestis) hummingbird in Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, near Quito, Ecuador, South America. This species is found in Colombia and Ecuador. Males average around 7 inches (18 cm), while females average around 3.8 inches (9.7 cm). The Sylph lives in areas from 300-2100 meters in elevation, though typically above 900 meters.
    09ECU-2045_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • A 6 inch young leaf unfurls into a giant 3 foot diameter leaf in Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, near Quito, Ecuador, South America.
    09ECU-1759_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • A 6 inch young leaf unfurls into a giant 3 foot diameter leaf in Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, near Quito, Ecuador, South America.
    09ECU-1758_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • Tom Dempsey photographed this Buff-tailed Coronet (Boissonneaua flavescens) hummingbird in Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, near Quito, Ecuador, South America. This species is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela.
    09ECU-1728_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • The Booted Racket-tail (or Racquet-tail; or Racquet-tailed Hummingbird; Latin name Ocreatus underwoodii) in Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, in the "Mindo Area of International Importance for Birds," Tandayapa Valley, near Quito, Ecuador, South America. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    09ECU-1726_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • Tom Dempsey photographed this Buff-tailed Coronet (Boissonneaua flavescens) hummingbird in Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, near Quito, Ecuador, South America. This species is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela.
    09ECU-1701_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • A giant leaf unfurls in Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, near Quito, Ecuador, South America.
    09ECU-1645_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • Verdant vegetation of Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, near Quito, Ecuador, South America.
    09ECU-1633_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • San Francisco de Quito, most often called Quito, is the capital city of Ecuador (and of Pichincha province) in northwestern South America. This city of 1.4 million people (as of the 2001 census) is located in the Guayllabamba river basin, on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes mountains. UNESCO honored City of Quito as a World Heritage Site in 1978. Quito was founded in 1534 on the ruins of an Inca city. Despite the 1917 earthquake, the city has the best-preserved, least altered historic center in Latin America. In 2008 the city was designated as the headquarters of the Union of South American Nations. The elevation of the city's central square (Plaza de La Independencia or Plaza Grande) is 2850 meters (9350 feet), making Quito the second-highest administrative capital city in the world (after La Paz, Bolivia). The central square of Quito is located about 25 km (15 miles) south of the equator; the city itself extends to within about 1 km (0.6 miles) of zero latitude. A monument and museum marking the general location of the equator is known locally as la mitad del mundo (the middle of the world), to avoid confusion, as the word ecuador is Spanish for equator.
    09ECU-1282_Quito-Ecuador.jpg
  • Spiral columns of a church in Quito. San Francisco de Quito, most often called Quito, is the capital city of Ecuador (and of Pichincha province) in northwestern South America.  UNESCO honored City of Quito as a World Heritage Site in 1978. Quito was founded in 1534 on the ruins of an Inca city. Despite the 1917 earthquake, the city has the best-preserved, least altered historic center in Latin America. This city of 1.4 million people (as of the 2001 census) is located in the Guayllabamba river basin, on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes mountains. In 2008 the city was designated as the headquarters of the Union of South American Nations. The elevation of the city's central square (Plaza de La Independencia or Plaza Grande) is 2850 meters (9350 feet), making Quito the second-highest administrative capital city in the world (after La Paz, Bolivia). The central square of Quito is located about 25 km (15 miles) south of the equator; the city itself extends to within about 1 km (0.6 miles) of zero latitude. A monument and museum marking the general location of the equator is known locally as la mitad del mundo (the middle of the world), to avoid confusion, as the word ecuador is Spanish for equator.
    09ECU-1134_Quito-Ecuador.jpg
  • San Francisco de Quito, most often called Quito, is the capital city of Ecuador (and of Pichincha province) in northwestern South America. UNESCO honored City of Quito as a World Heritage Site in 1978. Quito was founded in 1534 on the ruins of an Inca city. Despite the 1917 earthquake, the city has the best-preserved, least altered historic center in Latin America. This city of 1.4 million people (as of the 2001 census) is located in the Guayllabamba river basin, on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes mountains. In 2008 the city was designated as the headquarters of the Union of South American Nations. The elevation of the city's central square (Plaza de La Independencia or Plaza Grande) is 2850 meters (9350 feet), making Quito the second-highest administrative capital city in the world (after La Paz, Bolivia). The central square of Quito is located about 25 km (15 miles) south of the equator; the city itself extends to within about 1 km (0.6 miles) of zero latitude. A monument and museum marking the general location of the equator is known locally as la mitad del mundo (the middle of the world), to avoid confusion, as the word ecuador is Spanish for equator.
    09ECU-1130_Quito-Ecuador.jpg
  • April 21, 2009: La Cumbre volcano erupts lava into the Pacific Ocean, expanding Fernandina (Narborough) Island, in the Galápagos Islands, a province of Ecuador, South America. This eruption cycle started April 10, 2009 after 5 years of quiet. Fernandina Island was named in honor of King Ferdinand II of Aragon, who sponsored the voyage of Columbus. Fernandina is the youngest and westernmost island of the Galápagos archipelago, and has a maximum altitude of 1,494 metres (4,902 feet). Tourists are allowed to visit Punta Espinosa, a narrow stretch of land where hundreds of Marine Iguanas gather largely on black lava rocks. The Flightless Cormorant, Galápagos Penguins, Pelicans and Sea Lions are abundant on this island of lava flows and Mangrove Forests. The volcanic Galápagos Islands (officially Archipiélago de Colón, otherwise called Islas de Colón, Islas Galápagos, or Enchanted Islands) are distributed along the equator in the Pacific Ocean 972 km west of continental Ecuador, South America.
    09ECU-4128_Galapagos.jpg
  • April 21, 2009: La Cumbre volcano erupts lava into the Pacific Ocean creating steam clouds and expanding Fernandina (Narborough) Island, in the Galápagos Islands, a province of Ecuador, South America. This eruption cycle started April 10, 2009 after 5 years of quiet. Fernandina Island was named in honor of King Ferdinand II of Aragon, who sponsored the voyage of Columbus. Fernandina is the youngest and westernmost island of the Galápagos archipelago, and has a maximum altitude of 1,494 metres (4,902 feet). Tourists are allowed to visit Punta Espinosa, a narrow stretch of land where hundreds of Marine Iguanas gather largely on black lava rocks. The Flightless Cormorant, Galápagos Penguins, Pelicans and Sea Lions are abundant on this island of lava flows and Mangrove Forests. The volcanic Galápagos Islands (officially Archipiélago de Colón, otherwise called Islas de Colón, Islas Galápagos, or Enchanted Islands) are distributed along the equator in the Pacific Ocean 972 km west of continental Ecuador, South America. In 1959, Ecuador declared 97% of the land area of the Galápagos Islands to be Galápagos National Park, which UNESCO registered as a World Heritage Site in 1978. Ecuador created the Galápagos Marine Reserve in 1998, which UNESCO appended in 2001.
    09ECU-3794_Galapagos.jpg
  • Juvenile Striated Heron (Butorides striata) at Punta (Point) Espinoza, on Fernandina (Narborough) Island, Galápagos Islands, a province of Ecuador, South America. Also known as Mangrove Heron or Little Heron, the Striated Heron breeds in small wetlands in the Old World tropics from west Africa to Japan and Australia, and in South America. This bird was long considered to be conspecific with the closely related North American species, the Green Heron, which is now usually separated as B. virescens, as well as the Lava Heron of the Galápagos Islands (now B. sundevalli, but often included in B. striata; collectively they were called "green-backed herons". Like other herons, they are traditionally placed in the order Ciconiiformes together with storks, but all these birds form a close-knit group with pelicans, and it is unresolved whether herons are not closer to these than to storks.
    09ECU-3677_Galapagos.jpg
  • Sally Lightfoot or red lava crab (Grapsus grapsus) at Punta (Point) Espinoza, on Fernandina (Narborough) Island, Galápagos Islands, a province of Ecuador, South America. Grapsus grapsus is one of the most common crabs along the western coast of South America, and can also be seen along the entire coast of Central America and Mexico and nearby islands. This crab has five pairs of legs, the front two bearing small, blocky, symmetrical chelae. The other legs are broad and flat, with only the tips touching down. The crab's round, flat carapace is just over 8 cm (3 inches) in length. Young crabs are black or dark brown in color and camouflage well on the black lava coasts of volcanic islands. Adults are quite variable in color. Some are muted brownish-red, some mottled or spotted brown, pink, or yellow. The ones seen on photographs of tropical island fauna are often bright orange or red with stripes or spots dorsally, blue and green ventrally, and sporting red claws and pink or blue eyes. This crab lives amongst the rocks at the often turbulent, windy shore, just above the limit of the seaspray. It feeds on algae primarily, sometimes sampling plant matter and dead animals. It is a quick-moving and agile crab, and hard to catch, but not considered very edible by humans. It is used as bait by fishermen.
    09ECU-3674_Galapagos.jpg
  • Salto del Leon waterfall is worth visiting near Pucon and Villarica in the Andes mountain range, in Los Lagos Region, Chile, South America. What international tourist literature calls the "Chilean Lake District" usually refers to the Andean foothills between Temuco and Puerto Montt including three Regions (XIV Los Ríos, IX La Araucanía, and X Los Lagos) in what Chile calls the Zona Sur (Southern Zone). In Chile, Patagonia includes the territory of Valdivia through Tierra del Fuego archipelago. Spanning both Argentina and Chile, the foot of South America is known as Patagonia, a name derived from coastal giants ("Patagão" or "Patagoni" who were actually Tehuelche native people who averaged 25 cm taller than the Spaniards) who were reported by Magellan's 1520s voyage circumnavigating the world.
    93CHI-16-11_Salto-del-Leon_waterfall.jpg
  • A monument honors Ferdinand Magellan (1480-1521) in Punta Arenas, an important port city on the Strait of Magellan, in Chile, South America. Punta Arenas is the capital city of Chile's southernmost region, Magallanes and Antartica Chilena. Ferdinand Magellan (Spanish: Fernando de Magallanes, Portuguese: Fernão de Magalhães) was a Portuguese explorer who served King Charles I of Spain in search of a westward route to the "Spice Islands" (modern Maluku Islands in Indonesia). Magellan's expedition of 1519-1522 was the first expedition to sail from the Atlantic Ocean into and across the Pacific Ocean and first to circumnavigate the Earth. Magellan himself did not complete the entire voyage, as he was killed in the Battle of Mactan in the Philippines. The foot of South America is known as Patagonia, a name derived from coastal giants, Patagão or Patagoni, who were reported by Magellan's 1520s voyage circumnavigating the world and were actually Tehuelche native people who averaged 25 cm (or 10 inches) taller than the Spaniards.
    05CHI-10009_Punta-Arenas_Chile.jpg
  • A monument honors Ferdinand Magellan (1480-1521) in Punta Arenas, an important port city on the Strait of Magellan, in Chile, South America. Punta Arenas is the capital city of Chile's southernmost region, Magallanes and Antartica Chilena. Ferdinand Magellan (Spanish: Fernando de Magallanes, Portuguese: Fernão de Magalhães) was a Portuguese explorer who served King Charles I of Spain in search of a westward route to the "Spice Islands" (modern Maluku Islands in Indonesia). Magellan's expedition of 1519-1522 was the first expedition to sail from the Atlantic Ocean into and across the Pacific Ocean and first to circumnavigate the Earth. Magellan himself did not complete the entire voyage, as he was killed in the Battle of Mactan in the Philippines. The foot of South America is known as Patagonia, a name derived from coastal giants, Patagão or Patagoni, who were reported by Magellan's 1520s voyage circumnavigating the world and were actually Tehuelche native people who averaged 25 cm (or 10 inches) taller than the Spaniards.
    05CHI-10006_Punta-Arenas_Chile.jpg
  • Street scene in Punta Arenas, an important port city on the Strait of Magellan, in Chile, South America. Punta Arenas is the capital city of Chile's southernmost region, Magallanes and Antartica Chilena. The foot of South America is known as Patagonia, a name derived from coastal giants, Patagão or Patagoni, who were reported by Magellan's 1520s voyage circumnavigating the world and were actually Tehuelche native people who averaged 25 cm (or 10 inches) taller than the Spaniards.
    05CHI-10002_Punta-Arenas_Chile.jpg
  • From the docks of Puerto Natales, catch the inexpensive daily cruise to Serrano Glacier on the ship "21 de Mayo" in Chile, South America. Explore the scenic fjord of Last Hope Sound (Seno de Última Esperanza) and walk a fun nature trail to the tongue of the spectacular tidewater glacier. Frequent high winds can sometimes turn back or cancel this day cruise. If the next day's weather forecast is good, book the cruise one day in advance at the dock ? or check for tickets on the morning of departure. If you sleep overnight near remote Serrano Glacier at basic Hostaria Balmaceda (as we did), meals are provided, but no hot shower or bath, just a sink. Pleasant day hikes have views of Serrano Glacier across the fjord and Torres (Towers) to the north. Última Esperanza Sound is an ocean inlet stretching from the mouth of Eberhard Fjord to Monte Balmaceda within Magallanes Basin. Filling a valley carved by ice age glaciers, this inlet is a tidewater river which drains an extensive basin including almost all the surface waters of Torres del Paine National Park through the Serrano River. The foot of South America is known as Patagonia.
    05CHI-10107_Last-Hope-Sound_Chile.jpg
  • Morning light spotlights  Mount Fitz Roy (3405 meters or 11,170 feet), which rises abruptly on the border between Argentina and Chile in the Southern Patagonian Ice Field in the Andes mountains. Visit El Chaltén village for great hiking in Los Glaciares National Park, Argentina, South America. This view from the Loma del Pliegue Tumbada trail is a few kilometers southwest of the park Visitor Center. In 1877, explorer Perito Moreno named "Cerro Fitz Roy" for Robert FitzRoy (no space before the capital R) who, as captain of the HMS Beagle, had travelled up the Santa Cruz River in 1834 and charted much of the Patagonian coast. First climbed in 1952 by French alpinists Lionel Terray and Guido Magnone, Mount Fitz Roy has very fickle weather and is one of the world's most challenging technical ascents. It is also called Cerro Chaltén, Cerro Fitz Roy, and Monte Fitz Roy (all with a space before the R). Chaltén comes from a Tehuelche (Aonikenk) word meaning "smoking mountain" (explained by frequent orographic clouds). Cerro is a Spanish word meaning hill. El Chaltén village was built in 1985 by Argentina to help secure the disputed border with Chile, and now tourism supports it, 220 km north of the larger town of El Calafate. The foot of South America is known as Patagonia, a name derived from coastal giants, Patagão or Patagoni, who were reported by Magellan's 1520s voyage circumnavigating the world and were actually Tehuelche native people who averaged 25 cm (or 10 inches) taller than the Spaniards. Mount Fitz Roy is the basis for the Patagonia company's clothing logo, after Yvon Chouinard's ascent and subsequent film in 1968.
    05ARG-50166.jpg
  • Sunrise light spotlights a brown horse near Mount Fitz Roy (3405 meters or 11,170 feet), which rises abruptly on the border between Argentina and Chile in the Southern Patagonian Ice Field in the Andes mountains, near El Chaltén village, Argentina, South America. In 1877, explorer Perito Moreno named "Cerro Fitz Roy" for Robert FitzRoy (no space before the capital R) who, as captain of the HMS Beagle, had travelled up the Santa Cruz River in 1834 and charted much of the Patagonian coast. First climbed in 1952 by French alpinists Lionel Terray and Guido Magnone, Mount Fitz Roy has very fickle weather and is one of the world's most challenging technical ascents. It is also called Cerro Chaltén, Cerro Fitz Roy, and Monte Fitz Roy (all with a space before the R). Chaltén comes from a Tehuelche (Aonikenk) word meaning "smoking mountain" (explained by frequent orographic clouds). Cerro is a Spanish word meaning hill. El Chaltén village was built in 1985 by Argentina to help secure the disputed border with Chile, and now tourism supports it, 220 km north of the larger town of El Calafate. The foot of South America is known as Patagonia, a name derived from coastal giants, Patagão or Patagoni, who were reported by Magellan's 1520s voyage circumnavigating the world and were actually Tehuelche native people who averaged 25 cm (or 10 inches) taller than the Spaniards. Mount Fitz Roy is the basis for the Patagonia company's clothing logo, after Yvon Chouinard's ascent and subsequent film in 1968.
    05ARG-50153.jpg
  • A golden sunrise spotlights a white horse with brown spots grazing near Mount Fitz Roy (3405 meters or 11,170 feet), which rises abruptly on the border between Argentina and Chile in the Southern Patagonian Ice Field in the Andes mountains, near El Chaltén village, Argentina, South America. In 1877, explorer Perito Moreno named "Cerro Fitz Roy" for Robert FitzRoy (no space before the capital R) who, as captain of the HMS Beagle, had travelled up the Santa Cruz River in 1834 and charted much of the Patagonian coast. First climbed in 1952 by French alpinists Lionel Terray and Guido Magnone, Mount Fitz Roy has very fickle weather and is one of the world's most challenging technical ascents. It is also called Cerro Chaltén, Cerro Fitz Roy, and Monte Fitz Roy (all with a space before the R). Chaltén comes from a Tehuelche (Aonikenk) word meaning "smoking mountain" (explained by frequent orographic clouds). Cerro is a Spanish word meaning hill. El Chaltén village was built in 1985 by Argentina to help secure the disputed border with Chile, and now tourism supports it, 220 km north of the larger town of El Calafate. The foot of South America is known as Patagonia, a name derived from coastal giants, Patagão or Patagoni, who were reported by Magellan's 1520s voyage circumnavigating the world and were actually Tehuelche native people who averaged 25 cm (or 10 inches) taller than the Spaniards. Mount Fitz Roy is the basis for the Patagonia company's clothing logo, after Yvon Chouinard's ascent and subsequent film in 1968.
    05ARG-50148.jpg
  • Flying from Ezeiza (Ministro Pistarini International Airport, code EZE), see an earial view of Puerto Madero barrio of Buenos Aires, in Argentina, South America. Spanning dock 3 (dique 3), the cable-stayed Puente de la Mujer ("Woman's Bridge" at center, bright white) is a swinging footbridge in newly developed Puerto Madero commercial district of central Buenos Aires. The single mast (cantilever spar) suspends part of the bridge with cables and rotates 90 degrees to allow water traffic to pass. Designed by Santiago Calatrava, the bridge was built 1998-2001 in the Puerto Madero Waterfront along the Río de la Plata. The Río de la Plata ("River of Silver," called River Plate in British English or Plata River otherwise) is the tidal estuary confluence of Uruguay River and Paraná River on the border between Argentina and Uruguay. Its funnel shape indents the southeast coast of South America by 290 km (180 miles). Some geographers consider the Río de la Plata to be a gulf or marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, while others consider it the widest river in the world, up to 220 kilometres (140 mi) wide.
    05ARG-50213.jpg
  • Orange and gray painted wood double doors in San Telmo barrio, the heart of old Buenos Aires, Argentina, South America. Admire well-preserved old buildings in San Telmo ("Saint Pedro González Telmo"), the oldest barrio (neighborhood) of Buenos Aires, in Argentina, South America.
    05ARG-10454.jpg
  • Blue and yellow painted wood double doors in San Telmo barrio, the heart of old Buenos Aires, Argentina, South America. Admire well-preserved old buildings in San Telmo ("Saint Pedro González Telmo"), the oldest barrio (neighborhood) of Buenos Aires, in Argentina, South America.
    05ARG-10451.jpg
  • See highlands and Paramo (above treeline) landscape above the Black Sheep Inn, near Chugchilan, along the Lago Quilotoa driving loop, Ecuador, the Andes, South America. The Páramo is a high elevation ecosystem in tropical South America (neotropical) between the upper forest line (about 3800 m altitude) and the permanent snow line (about 5000 m). The ecosystem contains mostly glacier formed valleys and plains with a large variety of lakes, peat bogs and wet grasslands intermingled with shrublands and forest patches. Panorama was stitched from 4 overlapping photos.
    09ECU-2418-21pan_Ecuador.jpg
  • Hotel Sierra Madre Cotopaxi, near the town of Machachi, adjacent to Cotopaxi National Park (Spanish: Parque Nacional Cotopaxi). Cotopaxi is a stratovolcano in the Andes Mountains, located about 75 kilometers (50 miles) south of Quito, Ecuador, South America.
    09ECU-2292_Ecuador.jpg
  • This bird is probably a Thick-billed Euphonia (Euphonia laniirostris), a species in the family Fringillidae (formerly placed in the Thraupidae family). Euphonia laniirostris is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, and heavily degraded former forest. The bird was photographed in the lower elevations (about 1400 meters) of Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, near Quito, Ecuador, South America. It has a bright yellow belly, yellow crown, and blue-black upper feathers and tail. It stands on a ripe banana and fills its beak to satisfaction.
    09ECU-2202_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • Brown hummingbird with white markings, at the lower elevations (about 1400 meters) of Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, near Quito, Ecuador, South America.
    09ECU-2199_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • Tom Dempsey photographed this Andean Emerald (Amazilia franciae) hummingbird at the lower elevations (about 1400 meters) of Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, near Quito, Ecuador, South America. The Andean Emerald is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
    09ECU-2172_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • A male Green-crowned Brilliant hummingbird (Heliodoxa jacula) feeds at the lower elevations (about 1400 meters) of Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, near Quito, Ecuador, South America. It is a large robust hummingbird in the highlands from Costa Rica to western Ecuador. The male Green-crowned Brilliant is 13 cm long and weighs 9.5 g. It is mainly bronze-green with a glittering green crown, forehead, throat and breast. It has a white spot behind the eye, a small violet throat patch, white thighs, and a deeply forked blue-black tail. The female is 12 cm long and weighs 8 g. She differs from the male in that she has green-spotted white underparts, a white spot behind the eye and a white stripe below the eye, and a white-cornered shallowly-forked black tail.. Young birds resemble the adult of the same sex, but are duller, bronze-tinged below and have buff throats.  This hummingbird feeds at the large inflorescences of Marcgravia vines, and at Heliconia and other large flowers. Unlike many hummingbirds, the Green-crowned Brilliant almost always perches to feed.
    09ECU-2156_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • A hummingbird sucks sugar water from feeders at the lower elevations (about 1400 meters) of Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, in the "Mindo Area of International Importance for Birds," Tandayapa Valley, near Quito, Ecuador, South America.
    09ECU-2136_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • A large leaf decays in a fractal pattern in Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, near Quito, Ecuador, South America.
    09ECU-2110_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • The “wax flower” is a member of Ericaceae, the Heath Family. Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, near Quito, Ecuador, South America.
    09ECU-2096_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • Trees reach into the mist of Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, near Quito, Ecuador, South America.
    09ECU-2070_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • The Booted Racket-tail (or Racquet-tail; or Racquet-tailed Hummingbird; Latin name Ocreatus underwoodii) in Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, near Quito, Ecuador, South America.
    09ECU-2058_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • Tom Dempsey photographed this Buff-tailed Coronet (Boissonneaua flavescens) hummingbird in Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, near Quito, Ecuador, South America. This species is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela.
    09ECU-2055_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • Tom Dempsey photographed this Buff-tailed Coronet (Boissonneaua flavescens) hummingbird in Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, near Quito, Ecuador, South America. This species is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela.
    09ECU-2050_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • green plant in Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, near Quito, Ecuador, South America.
    09ECU-2037_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • Tom Dempsey photographed this Gorgeted Sunangel (Heliangelus strophianus) hummingbird in Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, near Quito, Ecuador, South America. This species is found in Colombia and Ecuador, and shares several characters with H. clarisse and H. amethysticollis, and may belong to same superspecies.
    09ECU-2035_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • Tom Dempsey photographed this Buff-tailed Coronet (Boissonneaua flavescens) hummingbird in Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, near Quito, Ecuador, South America. This species is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela.
    09ECU-2026_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • Tom Dempsey photographed this Buff-tailed Coronet (Boissonneaua flavescens) hummingbird in Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, near Quito, Ecuador, South America. This species is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela.
    09ECU-2024_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • Hummingbirds gather at a feeder at Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, near Quito, Ecuador, South America.
    09ECU-2023_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • A tall mountain rises above Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, near Quito, Ecuador, South America.
    09ECU-2019_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • A rhinoceros beetle is attracted by night lights in Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, near Quito, Ecuador, South America. The rhinoceros beetles or rhino beetle are a subfamily (Dynastinae) of beetles in the family of scarab beetles (Scarabaeidae). Among the largest of beetles, their common name refers to the characteristic horns borne by the males of most species in the group. The males use their horns in mating battles against other males. Their larval stage is long, several years in some species. The larvae feed on rotten wood while the adults feed on nectar, plant sap and fruit. Rhinoceros beetle larvae are sometimes fried and eaten as a bush delicacy. Rhinoceros beetles are popular pets in Asia. They are clean, easy to maintain, and safe to handle. In Asian countries, male beetles are also used for gambling fights since they naturally compete for female beetles with the winner knocking the other off a log. Rhinoceros beetles are also the strongest animals on the planet in relation to their own size. They can lift up to 850 times their own weight.
    09ECU-1842_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • A moth with blue wings and orange head contrasts with red and orange window drapes at Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, Tandayapa Valley, near Quito, Ecuador, South America. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    09ECU-1840_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • A moth (order Lepidoptera) is attracted to night lights at Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, near Quito, Ecuador, South America.
    09ECU-1839_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • A moth (order Lepidoptera) is attracted to night lights at Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, Tandayapa Valley, near Quito, Ecuador, South America. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    09ECU-1803_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • Fern spores grow on a leaf in Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, near Quito, Ecuador, South America.
    09ECU-1747_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • A red flower blooms in Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, near Quito, Ecuador, South America.
    09ECU-1746_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • Tom Dempsey photographed this Buff-tailed Coronet (Boissonneaua flavescens) hummingbird in Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, near Quito, Ecuador, South America. This species is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela.
    09ECU-1719_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • Tom Dempsey photographed this Violet-tailed Sylph (Aglaiocercus coelestis) hummingbird in Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, in the "Mindo Area of International Importance for Birds," Tandayapa Valley, near Quito, Ecuador, South America. This species is found in Colombia and Ecuador. Males average around 7 inches (18 cm), while females average around 3.8 inches (9.7 cm). The Sylph lives in areas from 300-2100 meters in elevation, though typically above 900 meters.
    09ECU-1691_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • Masked Flowerpiercer (Diglossopis cyanea, in the Thraupidae family) was photographed at Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, near Quito, Ecuador, South America. It is a blue and black bird with red eyes found in humid montane forest and scrub in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia.
    09ECU-1682_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • The Blue-winged Mountain-tanager (Anisognathus somptuosus) has yellow belly and top of head, blue-black upper feathers and tail. It is a species of bird in the Thraupidae family, here at the lower elevations (about 1400 meters) of Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, near Quito, Ecuador, South America. It is generally found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela in subtropical or tropical moist montanes.
    09ECU-1681_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • A Buff-tailed Coronet (Boissonneaua flavescens) hummingbird lives in Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, in the "Mindo Area of International Importance for Birds," Tandayapa Valley, near Quito, Ecuador, South America. This species is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela.
    09ECU-1659_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • New leaves unfurl in Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, near Quito, Ecuador, South America.
    09ECU-1654_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • A multi lobed leaf is naturally tipped brown, in Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, near Quito, Ecuador, South America.
    09ECU-1635_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • At Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, the Dome has dormitory lodging options in the forest canopy, near Quito, Ecuador, South America. Also stay in comfortable private rooms. Web site: bellavistacloudforest.com.  Panorama was stitched from 4 overlapping photos.
    09ECU-1620-23pan_Bellavista-Cloud-Fo...jpg
  • Monasterio de San Agustín (or Iglesia de San Agustín; or Church of Saint Augustine) was built 1580-1627, rebuilt 1868, on the corner of Mejia and Flores Streets in Quito, Ecuador, South America. Ecuador’s first (short-lived) Act of Independence was signed inside this church in August 1809. San Francisco de Quito, most often called Quito, is the capital city of Ecuador (and of Pichincha province) in northwestern South America. This city of 1.4 million people (as of the 2001 census) is located in the Guayllabamba river basin, on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes mountains.
    09ECU-1172_Quito-Ecuador.jpg
  • Monasterio de San Agustín (or Iglesia de San Agustín; or Church of Saint Augustine) was built 1580-1627, rebuilt 1868, on the corner of Mejia and Flores Streets in Quito, Ecuador, South America. Ecuador’s first (short-lived) Act of Independence was signed inside this church in August 1809. San Francisco de Quito, most often called Quito, is the capital city of Ecuador (and of Pichincha province) in northwestern South America. This city of 1.4 million people (as of the 2001 census) is located in the Guayllabamba river basin, on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes mountains.
    09ECU-1168_Quito-Ecuador.jpg
  • San Francisco de Quito, most often called Quito, is the capital city of Ecuador (and of Pichincha province) in northwestern South America. UNESCO honored City of Quito as a World Heritage Site in 1978. Quito was founded in 1534 on the ruins of an Inca city. Despite the 1917 earthquake, the city has the best-preserved, least altered historic center in Latin America. This city of 1.4 million people (as of the 2001 census) is located in the Guayllabamba river basin, on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes mountains. In 2008 the city was designated as the headquarters of the Union of South American Nations. The elevation of the city's central square (Plaza de La Independencia or Plaza Grande) is 2850 meters (9350 feet), making Quito the second-highest administrative capital city in the world (after La Paz, Bolivia). The central square of Quito is located about 25 km (15 miles) south of the equator; the city itself extends to within about 1 km (0.6 miles) of zero latitude. A monument and museum marking the general location of the equator is known locally as la mitad del mundo (the middle of the world), to avoid confusion, as the word ecuador is Spanish for equator.
    09ECU-1116_Quito-Ecuador.jpg
  • The Basilica of the National Vow (Spanish: Basílica del Voto Nacional) is a Roman Catholic church, neo-Gothic in style, located a few blocks away from Plaza de la Independencia in Quito, Ecuador, South America. Construction began in 1892. Pope John Paul II blessed the Basilica on January 30th, 1985 and in 1988 it was declared immaculate. Although the church was consecrated in 1988, it remains technically "unfinished." The Basilica is 150 meters long, 35 meters wide, 35 meters high in the sanctuary and 15 meters in the votive chapels. Its towers are 78.23 meters high, 73 meters in the dome, 16 meters by 45 meters on the base of its towers. San Francisco de Quito, most often called Quito (elevation 9350 feet), is the capital city of Ecuador. UNESCO honored City of Quito as a World Heritage Site in 1978. Quito was founded in 1534 on the ruins of an Inca city. Despite the 1917 earthquake, the city has the best-preserved, least altered historic center in Latin America. Panorama was stitched from 12 overlapping photos.
    09ECU-1078-89pan_Quito-Basilica.jpg
  • Stained glass windows, Basilica of the National Vow, Quito, Ecuador, South America. The Basilica of the National Vow (Spanish: Basílica del Voto Nacional) is a Roman Catholic church, neo-Gothic in style, located a few blocks away from Plaza de la Independencia in Quito, Ecuador, South America. Construction began in 1892. Pope John Paul II blessed the Basilica on January 30th, 1985 and in 1988 it was declared immaculate. Although the church was consecrated in 1988, it remains technically "unfinished." San Francisco de Quito, most often called Quito (elevation 9350 feet), is the capital city of Ecuador.
    09ECU-1058_Quito-Ecuador.jpg
  • Stained glass windows, Basilica of the National Vow, Quito, Ecuador, South America. The Basilica of the National Vow (Spanish: Basílica del Voto Nacional) is a Roman Catholic church, neo-Gothic in style, located a few blocks away from Plaza de la Independencia in Quito, Ecuador, South America. Construction began in 1892. Pope John Paul II blessed the Basilica on January 30th, 1985 and in 1988 it was declared immaculate. Although the church was consecrated in 1988, it remains technically "unfinished." San Francisco de Quito, most often called Quito (elevation 9350 feet), is the capital city of Ecuador.
    09ECU-1056_Quito-Ecuador.jpg
  • April 21, 2009: La Cumbre volcano erupts lava into the Pacific Ocean creating steam clouds and expanding Fernandina (Narborough) Island, in the Galápagos Islands, a province of Ecuador, South America. This eruption cycle started April 10, 2009 after 5 years of quiet. Fernandina Island was named in honor of King Ferdinand II of Aragon, who sponsored the voyage of Columbus. Fernandina is the youngest and westernmost island of the Galápagos archipelago, and has a maximum altitude of 1,494 metres (4,902 feet). Tourists are allowed to visit Punta Espinosa, a narrow stretch of land where hundreds of Marine Iguanas gather largely on black lava rocks. The Flightless Cormorant, Galápagos Penguins, Pelicans and Sea Lions are abundant on this island of lava flows and Mangrove Forests. The volcanic Galápagos Islands (officially Archipiélago de Colón, otherwise called Islas de Colón, Islas Galápagos, or Enchanted Islands) are distributed along the equator in the Pacific Ocean 972 km west of continental Ecuador, South America. In 1959, Ecuador declared 97% of the land area of the Galápagos Islands to be Galápagos National Park, which UNESCO registered as a World Heritage Site in 1978. Ecuador created the Galápagos Marine Reserve in 1998, which UNESCO appended in 2001.
    09ECU-3818_Galapagos.jpg
  • April 21, 2009: La Cumbre volcano erupts lava into the Pacific Ocean, expanding Fernandina (Narborough) Island, in the Galápagos Islands, a province of Ecuador, South America. This eruption cycle started April 10, 2009 after 5 years of quiet. Fernandina Island was named in honor of King Ferdinand II of Aragon, who sponsored the voyage of Columbus. Fernandina is the youngest and westernmost island of the Galápagos archipelago, and has a maximum altitude of 1,494 metres (4,902 feet). Tourists are allowed to visit Punta Espinosa, a narrow stretch of land where hundreds of Marine Iguanas gather largely on black lava rocks. The Flightless Cormorant, Galápagos Penguins, Pelicans and Sea Lions are abundant on this island of lava flows and Mangrove Forests. The volcanic Galápagos Islands (officially Archipiélago de Colón, otherwise called Islas de Colón, Islas Galápagos, or Enchanted Islands) are distributed along the equator in the Pacific Ocean 972 km west of continental Ecuador, South America.
    09ECU-3795_Galapagos.jpg
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