A Flashing Burst of Color
I WAS a European on my first visit to California. On the first morning in Indian Wells, I stepped out into the brilliant desert sun. The flowers were blooming on the patio. As I stood there, I suddenly heard a loud humming noise as what I thought was a large insect went zooming past me.
Within moments there was the sound and the blur once again. I thought it must be some kind of extra-large California bee warning me to get away from its flight path. I called to my host, “What was that that just buzzed me?” “Oh, that was only a hummingbird. We have hundreds of them around here.”
Just a hummingbird! That triggered my senses—here was a creature I had heard about but had never seen. I watched carefully and suddenly sighted this tiny, whirring phenomenon poising in front of a flower. This little bird, hanging in midair, darted back and forth to dip its long bill into the precious nectar that was its source of vital energy.
I stood there entranced as the flashing burst of color hovered and then flew backward! I could hardly contain my excitement. Coming from northern European climes, I had never seen such a beautiful bird. It was like watching a miracle in action. Its iridescent feathers gave off colors that were hard to define—reds, purples, and greens with a kind of metallic sheen. The sheer beauty of it made me call my wife to come and behold such a unique creation.
I could resist no longer. I went for my camera and started looking for angles and light in order to get a good action shot. In the corner of the patio was an artificial feeder in the form of a red, bell-shaped flower. Inside was man-made nectar—a weak sugar solution. Since there was insufficient light in that corner, I asked my wife to hold the feeder at arm’s length out in the sun. As she stood still, the bird eventually came zooming toward her and started darting in and out, taking its fill of liquid energy. As it got confident with this new location, it even investigated my wife’s ear—maybe there was nectar there!
We both marveled and thrilled actually to see and hear a hummingbird for the first time in our lives. I thought, ‘What a lesson! Wherever we are in the world, we should never take any of our own local miracles for granted.’ And my friend had said, “Only a hummingbird”!
Hummingbird Versus Helicopter
As I observed its maneuvers, I could not help but think that the nearest man has got to the design of a hummingbird is a helicopter. And yet, what a clumsy contraption it seems in comparison!
Ever since that day some five years ago, I have been intrigued by the beauty and design of the hummingbird. And I have discovered more about these tiny bundles of design and energy. For example, according to the book Hummingbirds: Their Life and Behavior, there are “approximately 338 species and 116 genera of the family Trochilidae, the smallest birds in the world.” In fact, some are so small they weigh less than a British penny or U.S. cent and are about the size of a bumblebee. The largest are about eight inches in length.
Returning to the helicopter comparison—I checked with Sikorsky Aircraft to find out how many revolutions per minute the rotor blades make as a helicopter flies. The answer was between 200 and 300 revolutions per minute. And the hummingbird? While hovering, some of them achieve a wingbeat of 78 times per second, or 4,680 beats per minute!
So Much to Learn
Some of the names it is given in other languages are very expressive. The Portuguese call it beija flor, which means “flower kisser.” The Spanish call it chupaflor, which means “flowersucker.” In Italian it is colibrì, and it is also known as the uccello mosca, the “flybird,” because of its tiny size.
Have you ever seen a hummingbird in your part of the world? Unless you live in the Western Hemisphere, you will not have that privilege. Its range stretches from Alaska down through most of the United States, across Mexico and the Caribbean, and into South America. But whether you have seen one or not, you can imagine my thrill at seeing and hearing my very first hummingbird.
In all parts of the earth there are amazing creatures that are stunning with their design and beauty. Even those we may consider to be ugly still display awesome design. Yet, to know all of them and understand them is too big a task for so short a life. Just to know everything there is to know about hummingbirds would take years of study and observation. And yet, some say that everlasting life would be boring—even with so much to learn!
I am reminded of the ancient poetic words, originally written in Hebrew: “How many your works are, O Jehovah! All of them in wisdom you have made. The earth is full of your productions.” (Psalm 104:24) It is no wonder that when the psalmist noted such creations as “the birds of heaven,” he was moved to add: “O Jehovah our Lord, how majestic your name is in all the earth!”—Psalm 8:8, 9.
[Pictures on page 16]
In comparison with the beauty and design of a hummingbird, a helicopter is a clumsy contraption
[Credit Line]
G. C. Kelley photo
[Picture on page 17]
It is the only bird that can fly backward
[Credit Line]
G. C. Kelley photo
[Picture on page 17]
Some weigh no more than a penny
[Credit Line]
D. Biggins/U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
[Picture on page 18]
Some hummingbirds have a wingbeat of 78 times per second, while a helicopter’s rotor turns only 4 or 5 times a second
[Credit Line]
G. C. Kelley photo
[Picture Credit Line on page 15]
G. C. Kelley photo