Hummingbirds

For anyone who’s sat on a porch in the summer and heard the distinct humming noise dancing around the red feeders specifically colored to bring in humming birds knows that just because you’ve heard it doesn’t mean you’ll see it. One minute there and the next it’s gone. The ones that continue to come back ever year to my family’s farm are now comfortable enough to actually sit on the feeder and not just fly off at the first hint of movement. Around here that first hummingbird means that summer has arrived, much like the spotting of the robin and spring.

This beautiful iridescent bird is found only in the Americas. There are 300 hundred species of hummingbirds. Except for some large species in the jungles of South America, this creature is extremely small, some no bigger than a bumblebee (a ruby-throat or rufous weights about one-ninth of an ounce). It is the only bird capable of backward flight; its wings can beat 80 times a second. It has a very thin, long beak and a long tongue, making it possible for the bird to feed while suspended in the air.

Hummingbird battles over territory consist mostly of posturing and bill-pointing; however, we also notice this behavior in all the zooming and chattering when a rival approaches “their” feeder, and they zoom in to chase it off. This instinct to protect their territory and food is so strong that the wars may continue all day.

The Mayans associated the hummingbird with the Black Sun and the Fifth World of their legends; it carries the secrets of duality in its breast. Their deity Quetzalcoatl was considered to be a hummingbird god and, as the Feathered Serpent, wore its plumes. Although the feathers of this bird were used in love charms, the Aztecs had a war god, Huitzilopochtli (“the hummingbird on the left”), who wore a crown of these plumes.

Hummingbird is a character in the legends of the Paiute Indians of North America. He once filled his trousers with seeds and set out on a journey to discover what lay beyond the sun. He ate one seed a day but his journey was so long he had to return since there were no more seeds left in his store. This legend seems to relate to the hummingbird’s habit of eating upon the wing.

For the Anasazi Indians, Hummingbird was a messenger.

In Venezuelan folklore, the hummingbird stood upon a crow and brought the first tobacco seeds from Trinidad.

Superstitions: It is believed by many that hummingbirds migrate by hitching rides on larger birds.

Magickal Attributes: Happiness, love, messages, relaxation. Don’t be so judgmental. Love and happiness in your life. Protecting your home. Stopper of time.

Deity:

Huitzilopochtli (Aztec; god)

Iris (Greek; goddess)

Quetzalcoatl (Aztec; god)

Chant:

Fierce tiny bird of the bright rainbow feathers.

I see you speeding, darting, hovering.

Life a hummingbird I am confident.

I fear nothing, for the Gods are with me.

I flit among the beautiful flowers of life,

Content to do what must be done,

And living my life to the fullest.

(Chant is an excerpt from Animal Magick, by D.J. Conway)