Bird at hand in Utah

Wild creatures pose when you least expect it, but Punda Pai of Las Vegas was prepared when he got this bird in Springdale, Utah (near Zion National Park), perched on a garden flower and mugging for his camera, a Panasonic Lumix. “The bird was relaxed about everything,” Pai said. “I got very close to it.” Later, the Utah Audubon Society identified the bird as a lesser goldfinch, he said.