A Hummingbird Attacks!

Photographer Bence Máté describes the scene in today's Cool Animal Photo of the Week: "I was photographing hummingbirds when I heard the sharp, alarming noise of the birds reacting to the presence of a predator. Sixty feet away from me this green-crowned brilliant (also known as Heliodoxa jacula, a type of hummingbird) was fearlessly attacking a small viper." Máté took this photograph in Costa Rica, where about 50 of the 338 known species of hummingbirds, as well as tree-dwelling vipers, live in the tropical foliage. This amazing image is a winner in Nature's Best Photography magazine's 2010 Best Photography contest. You can see more great nature photography on their website.