At high altitudes, where there are few insect pollinators, orchids invite the services of hummingbirds with offers of nectar.
This Eleanthus orchid, in a cloud forest in western Panama, was on the flower-patrol route of a male magnificent hummingbird, which would pass by every 40 minutes or so to check for freshly open florets. Whenever he dipped his beak in for a drink, a purple pollen package would stick to it, and he would inadvertently deliver this to the next orchid he visited. Christian captured the act in intimate detail by using a custom-made wide-angle macro lens, choosing an orchid that he could set up his camera next to and watching for two weeks, poised with cable-release in hand.
Germany
Christian is a photojournalist and filmmaker specialising in natural history and science-related topics. He works for the Max Planck Institute for Animal Behaviour as an Outreach Photographer and is a regular contributor to National Geographic Magazine. He has also been widely published in other magazines, such as GEO, and is a Canon Ambassador and a Founding Fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers.
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