This female hummer taking an break, but still alert and agitated, as you can see by the spread tail. Usually when they're perched, it's neatly folded up.
I wish there was some way to convey what's going on when these hummers battle. I stand on my deck and they continually chase each other about like feathered bullets. Many times one will be chasing another and they zip right past, one just missing the right side of my head while the other almost grazes the left as they pass. During the chases, there is much chittering and chirping, and much wing buzzing, like large angry hornets. They also sometimes make an almost mechanical whiring sound with their wings when they're doing high speed maneuvering,I don't know if it's intentional or not. Last night there were at least six hummers chasing each other around, and it's a remarkable thing to watch, although nearly impossible to catch with my camera.
