Hummingbirds - Bringing Fire to
the New World
Iridescent feathers that glow in the sun, a small but mighty warrior, admired by all that see them--the hummingbird is striking and the smallest bird in the world.
by Nancy Reid
Even though hummingbirds are now only found in North, Central and South America, zoologists unearthed fossils of the world's oldest known hummingbirds in Germany in 2004. The pair of 30-million-year old skeletons are less than five centimeters long and resemble modern hummingbirds. It is the first record of a modern-type hummingbirds being found in the Old World. The fossils are similar to modern hummingbirds in size, bone structure and beak length. Their beaks were twice as long as their skulls and their wings were designed to hover. It is speculated that the tiny birds went extinct in the Old World, due to climate change or competition with insects and other birds. However, before going extinct, it is believed that this tiny dynamo species constant need for nectar, may have helped shape some Asian and African flowers through co-evolution-- meaning one species evolves in response to the needs of another species.
It is interesting to note that the Ohlone peoples (Native Americans that inhabited the coast of California) legend talks of the world coming to an end. In the new beginning, one mountain peak stands, all else is water. The Eagle directs what needs to be done to bring earth back to live. He directs the Coyote to repopulate the earth. He directs the Hummingbird to bring back fire from the Badger People who inhabit the 'underworld'. The hummingbird flies down to the Badger People to ask for fire and is refused. Returning to the Eagle, he is commanded to return and get the fire. The Hummingbird returns to the home of the Badger People, who have tried to hide the fire under a deerskin. The deerskin has an arrow hole in it. Being as quick as the Hummingbird is, the hummingbird darts in, grabs a hot ember and escapes. During his escape, the ember burns the hummingbirds throat--which is why they now have the iridescent throats--and they are responsible for returning fire to the outside world.
To the Aztec people, Huitzilopochtli was a tribal god and a legendary wizard of the Aztecs--his name meant Left-Handed Hummingbird, or Hummingbird of the south (on the left). He was a god of war, a sun god, and the patron of the city of Tenochititlan (the seat of the Aztec empire until the coming of the Spanish in 1521 and now part of Mexico City) and the national god of the Mexicas of Tonochititlan. He is often depicted as a hummingbird. The Aztecs wore hummingbird talismans symbolic for vigor and energy, both in warfare and sexual relations--the bill signifying both weapons and penetration and intimacy.
Then there are the Nazca Lines, a series of ancient geoglyphs located in the Nazca Desert of Peru--where the hummingbird is drawn as are monkeys, llamas, sharks, lizards, spiders and fish. Geoglyphs are huge drawings on the ground made, in this case, by removing the reddish pebbles, digging down to the white earth below, so the drawings show up. This Peruvian desert is one of the driest on earth, preserving the drawings that are thought to be a message to the ancient gods.
How does the smallest bird in the world command such a legacy? Perhaps by it's ability to fly backwards and sideways (the only bird that can do that), or it's ability to migrate from the northern parts of the USA to Mexico, sometimes in non-stop flights of over 500 miles crossing the Gulf of Mexico.
These minute birds consume almost five times their own weight in nectar each day, and to do so they must visit hundreds of flowers daily. Hummingbirds are continuously hours away from starving to death, and are able to store just enough energy to survive overnight. With the exception of insects, hummingbirds while in flight have the highest metabolism of all animals, a necessity in order to support the rapid beating of their wings. Their heart rate can reach as high as 1,260 beats per minute.
Hummingbirds are attracted to some flowers that insects cannot see, colorwise--nature's way of ensuring that everyone gets their fair share of nectar. These flowers produce a weaker nectar than most flowers, so hummingbirds do eat small insects to add to their diet. Hummingbirds, unlike other birds, cannot walk, so they are either sitting and digesting their food or flying. Their wings in flight form a figure eight pattern, symbolically the symbol of infinity.
I hope you enjoy the videos. Within the selection you will find out how to feed hummingbirds, see their flight set to slow motion and music, and close-up looks at these amazing little warriors.
