Not a bird, and not in Sydney. I’m currently travelling in Cappadocia, Turkey. Standing next to a lavender-like bush, I was startled by an odd creature. Tiny it was, making a loud hum, wings moving so fast they were a blur, abdomen hanging still in the air. My first instinct was that it was an insect, some type of wasp perhaps. Run! On second thoughts, maybe it’s a tiny humming bird. Stay!

This ten-second video gives a reasonable side view of the creature:

A slightly longer video gives a view from behind as well as some side views:

A bit of investigation revealed that it’s a hummingbird hawk-moth, also called a bee moth.

The next picture shows the spectacular backdrop for the flowery bush on which the moth was feeding. The pointy hills are the fairy chimneys in Uçhisar, in the province of Cappadocia in Turkey:

It was hard to catch a photo of the hummingbird hawk-moth, as they dodge around and their wings are basically just a blur. The next two shots give you some idea, in case the videos don’t work for you:

This one nicely shows the moth’s long proboscis dipping into a flower to suck up nectar:

Not a bird, but it had me fooled until I could examine the photos in detail!