OPINION —
I have a confession to make about hummingbirds. All my life, I have assumed all hummingbirds were just hummingbirds. Then I learned there are 360 species of hummingbirds in the world. When I read that, I recalled my dad often saying, “If you pay attention, you can learn something new every day.”
My curiosity about hummingbirds sprang from a question for which I had no answer, “Why do the two hummingbirds that drink from the feeder on my front porch fight about it when there are four holes available for the sugar water?”
My search for an answer led me to drink from a virtual fountain of information about this little bird.
Hummingbirds are found only in North, Central and South America. This precious gift of God is found nowhere else in the world. Eighteen species of hummingbirds are found in North America.
The ruby-throated hummingbird is the primary nesting species in Alabama. The males have bright metallic green backs and ruby-red throats. As birdwatchers know, it arrives from Central America and Mexico in late February and retreats south by October. Another species, the Rufous hummingbird, visits Alabama in the winter, mainly along the Gulf Coast. Males have orange-brown coloring.
The hummingbird is so small it weighs only one-tenth of an ounce. Its brain is about the size of a BB. Because its legs are undeveloped, it is unable to walk. But my how it can fly. Up to 60 miles an hour. It can hover, and it is the only bird that can fly backwards and upside down. Its wings beat 20 to 80 times per second.
Rarely will you see a hummingbird nest; it is about the size of a golf ball. I have only seen one nest. The little birds use spider webs to build a nest and secure it to a tree branch.
Most of us eat three meals a day, but hummingbirds eat every 10 minutes. They drink nectar from flowers and feeders, gulping down twice their body weight in nectar every day while moving their tongues in and out of their bill 12 times a second. They also eat insects and insect eggs on the ground and in trees. They love spiders and spider eggs, using their bill and not their tongue to catch insects.
States nearest Mexico have the most species of hummingbirds. Arizona has the most, 14 to 17, followed by Texas, New Mexico and California.
You may know a group of geese is called a gaggle. Well, for what it’s worth, a flock of hummingbirds is called a charm, a bouquet or a shimmer.
Why so much information about hummingbirds? To remind us of the awesome creativity of our God. The more I learn about the creatures and critters who share life on earth with us, the more convinced I am of God’s existence and His love for us who were created in His image. My soul is stirred when I read in Genesis that after creating man, male and female, he blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground” (1:28).
The Bible tells us that after his creation work had ended, “God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!” (1:31). All that good work included the little hummingbird, which no man can make. God made it. And why? There is no better explanation than this: He created 360 species of beautiful hummingbirds for our enjoyment!
Jesus understood this. He knew we could learn great lessons from observing the birds of the air. I love the way Eugene Peterson described what Jesus said about birds in The Message:
“If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds” (Matthew 6:26-29).
When the Devil says to me, “Walter, you are nothing but a tiny leaf floating nowhere on the turbulent sea of life,” I look at my two little hummingbirds and remember that God cares for me. He cared so much for me that He let His Son die on the cross for my sins, so I could become a baptized child of God and live as a servant of Jesus. And living for God’s glory allows me a few holy moments now and then to admire and give thanks for the amazing little hummingbirds.
How awesome the creative power and the amazing love of our heavenly Father! Glory! Hallelujah!
