The tiniest of all birds, weighing as little as half an ounce, hummingbirds are fierce. They drive much larger birds away from hummingbird feeders and will even buzz humans sometimes.

Hummingbirds can hover in one spot, like a helicopter. Their name in English comes from the surprisingly loud humming sound made by the rapid beating of their wings.

Because their long, slender beaks are perfectly adapted to sipping the nectar from deep, trumpet-shaped flowers, hummingbirds are important pollinators of certain plants.

For more information on hummingbirds and their habits, diets, and how to attract them to your yard, see the Hummingbird Lore website.

Male Broad Tail Hummingbird Photographic Print
Burden, Russell
Buy at AllPosters.com

Wikipedia has a nice article on hummingbirds, with photos.

North America

The peoples of the American Southwest also honor the hummingbird. The book, Spirit in the Stone: A Handbook of Southwest Indian Animal Carvings and Beliefs, shows carved stone fetishes made by several southwestern peoples and explains the spiritual qualities attributed to hummingbirds by each people.

More information about hummingbirds North America is coming soon!

Central America

Hummingbird was a major spirit, even a deity, among the ancient Maya. Some of the Maya of today still revere them.

In Spanish the hummingbird is called Chuparrosa ("sips the rose"). In Hispanic grocery stores in Texas and elsewhere, in the devotional candle section, you can buy 7-day devotional candles (made in San Antonio) dedicated to Chuparrosa.

Though primarily about love, the tall half-red, half-green candles are also for obtaining the sweetness of life. On the front of the candle are the words, "Ven a mi. Abre el camino." That means, "Come to me. Open the way."

A prayer is printed on the back of the candle glass in Spanish and English. The English version is much shorter and even then seems to have a few words left out [shown in brackets].

El Poder de La Chuparrosa

O divina chuparrosa, tu que por el poder divino endulzas y alegras las cosas, quiero que endulzes mi vida y alegres mi corazon; ya que por tu divina intercesion he de vencer a mi amado(a) y solo sea para mi, y asi como chupas la miel de las flores, chupa la sal y mala suerte que tengo, y asi en todo vencer, novenario te he de hacer, para que tu no me olvides y me traigas al ser amado fiel y lleno de amor.

The Power of the Hummingbird

Oh, Divine Hummingbird, you have the power to sweeten my life and enrich my heart; [as you] also take the honey of the flower, [take] the salt and bad luck from me. I pray that you won't forget me and [will] bring me the essence of love.

More information about hummingbird spirits in Central America is coming soon.

South America

Hummingbird is one of the most recognizable and most beautiful of the huge drawings on the Nazca plain, high in the Andes Mountains of South America. These are the famous drawings that are so large that they can be seen as pictures only from high above the plain. On the ground, they just look like straight, shallow trenches, a few inches wide criss-crossing the high desert.

More on hummingbird spirits in South America coming soon!

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