Mysterious Red-headed Insect

I took an insect photo two summers ago - back when the front bed had so many bulbines I had to dig and give some away to keep them in check. Last winter killed every plant.
An interesting insect with a red head and flexible abdomen hung out on the bulbines for several days- long enough for me to catch a photo.

Right now Phillip at East Side Patch has an enchanting photo of a similar insect... and RBell of The Lazy Shady Gardener thinks it's a kind of Syrphid. They made me wonder if this insect on the bulbines is related to the one at East Side Patch so I decided to post my photo for comparison. When I uploaded the jpg photo, it immediately autorotated its orientation to portrait. That's because in 2008, I hadn't yet learned to disable the facial recognition setting. Once changed from jpg to png the photo remained as 'landscape'.

The photo was in my Critter file, labeled September 2, "Readhead" - not sure whether there was an actual basis for using the name or if it amused me, but I'd also like to know what these insects are.