Birdlore: The Charming Hummingbird

 In mythology across the world, traditional folklore and stories share a common theme of creatures such as dragons, mighty eagle-like birds, ravens, big cats, or man-like apes.  However, one creature may be found unique to Native American mythology.

The Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Arcilochus colubris) is a common sight at feeders in Missouri during summer months (photo: the Wikipedia files)

The spectacular Hummingbird is native to habitats only in the Western Hemisphere.  Among Native American tribes, these charming birds have inspired a rich cache of myths with their beautiful colors and even the tenacity they display when protecting their territory.

Hummingbirds will guard what they consider "their territory" with unbelievable ferocity (photo: Gay Schroer)

The Aztecs honor the hummingbird as part of their warrior culture.  The aggressive behavior hummingbirds display in fighting other hummingbirds or larger birds of prey in their territory is similar to the fearlessness of Aztec warriors.  The hummingbird’s nimble and swift flight ability is also reminiscent of an Aztec warrior’s agility in battle.  The Aztecs also believe that warriors fallen in battle rise to the sky and orbit the sun for four years, before transforming into a hummingbird.

Referred to as the Colibri (hummingbird) in the Caribbean, the smallest Colibri, Guani, is known to the mountain people of the Taino Indians as the most noble of the valiant Colibri (also known as the Bee Hummingbird, the smallest of all birds).

The Hummingbird is often associated with stories relating to the sun or light, bringing the rain, or gifting tobacco to the people. 

According to Mojave legend, the early people lived in a world of darkness.  The little hummingbird was sent to search for light.  Finding a twisting path to the bright upper world, the hummingbird showed the people the way to where they live today.  A Mayan myth mentions that the hummingbird is actually the sun in disguise trying to court the moon, who is disguised as a beautiful woman.

The tribes of the Hopi and Zuni will often decorate water jars with the images of hummingbirds, because it was believed the hummingbirds would intervene for the humans and convince the gods to send rain to the lands below.  A Hopi story tells of a time during a famine; a boy and girl were left at home alone while their parents went out in search of food.  The young boy made a toy hummingbird, which his sister threw into the air and it came to life.  The hummingbird flew to the center of the earth, pleading with the got of fertility to return the rains to the land.  The rains came back over the land, plants grew once more, and the children's parents returned home.

One Cherokee legend tells of a medicine man transforming into a hummingbird to recover lost tobacco seeds.  To the Pueblo people, the hummingbird is called the tobacco bird.  The hummingbird meets with Caterpillar, guardian of the tobacco plant, to receive smoke from him.  The hummingbird delivers the smoke to the shaman, so they may purify the earth.  The Arawaks, an extinct tribe of the Caribbean, also believed it was the hummingbird who brought tobacco to humans, calling him the Doctor Bird.

There are many more amazing stories and myths regarding these dimunitive, but charming birds.  So, the next time you're visiting the World Bird Sanctuary and see hummingbirds buzzing to and from the feeders, remember even the smallest of creatures can inspire the largest of legends in the human imagination.

Submitted by Jessica Bunke, World Bird Sanctuary Naturalist/Trainer

Rare Bird?

Do You Take your Backyard Birds for Granted?

This is a question that occurred to me recently while I was watching some of our local birds at my feeder.

 An American Cardinal 

Several years ago my husband and I took a trip to New Zealand, rented a camper, and camped our way from the South Island to the top of the North Island.  This mode of travel allowed us to see much more of the local flora and fauna than is normally seen from a tour bus. 

On our first couple of days there we encountered a number of unfamiliar seabirds and shorebirds, which we expected since we were then staying at a campground on the east coast of the South Island.  On our third day we crossed the mountains to the west coast and stayed in a charming little town called Hokitika. 

We had planned to travel down the coast to the glacier the next morning, but when we awakened the fog was so thick we could barely see to cross the street—not a good day to drive through mountainous terrain in unfamiliar territory on the “wrong” side of the road.  So instead we toured this charming little town on foot, met some of the local shopkeepers, and asked for advice as to where they would go to sightsee on such a foggy day.  The majority advised us to take a short trip out of town to Lake Kanieri.

The ferns were breathtaking! 

Frankly I think this unexpected side trip was probably a big improvement on glacier watching.  We encountered towering tree ferns, a beautiful waterfall, and some of the most gorgeous fern laden scenery I have ever seen.  As we were “oohing” and “aahing” over the fantastic plant life before us we spotted a strange looking bird strolling along hunting for insects in an open grassy field.  I immediately began taking photos of this exotic bird (I am a "shoot the photo first and then look it up later" kind of person).  I probably took 50 or 60 photos of this bird before we moved on.  The bird was a Weka—considered vulnerable, but not particularly rare in this locality.

 The bird turned out to be a Weka--a member of the rail family

Throughout this trip the above scenario was repeated many times---Pukeko (common), Australasian Harrier, Tomtit, New Zealand Pigeon, Tui, Bellbird, Fantail, Australian Magpie—all birds that were relatively common and on the IUCN list as Least Concern.  Granted, these birds weren’t particularly rare in that part of the world, but they were strange and new to me.

This South Island Tomtit, though relatively common, was an exotic species for us. 

So, the next time you are sitting at your window watching your feeders, just for a moment, look at your visiting birds through the eyes of someone from another country.

 Can you imagine someone from another country's reaction to this common American Goldfinch?

Can you imagine how excited they would be to see common (to us) birds such as Cardinals, American Robins, American Goldfinches, Blue Jays, Cooper’s Hawks, Red-tailed Hawks?  In particular imagine how excited they would be to see an actual Hummingbird or a Bald Eagle.  All of these species are native only to the Americas—some only to North America.

If I were from another part of the world the sight of this hummingbird would definitely get my heart racing 

Sometimes we have to step back and take a really good look at the wildlife right before our eyes that we often take for granted.

Don’t forget to feed your backyard birds this winter—they may be someone else’s rare sighting!

Submitted by Gay Schroer, World Bird Sanctuary Volunteer Photographer