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"Sustenance" |
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Hummingbirds depend on flowers for the nourishment of nectar, and the flowers depend on the hummingbirds to ensure their survival through pollination. This relationship of mutuality appears enhanced here by the striking harmony of color between the Anna’s and the Mexican Bush Sage.
"Splash of Color" Hummingbird dances How amazing to experience hummingbirds as
they come to drink and bathe at the top of a fountain. One can see on this
young male Anna’s the iridescent feathers of his developing gorget.
Anna’s Hummingbird
(Calypte anna)
Ramsey Canyon, Arizona
Water droplets fall like rain
Sparkle in the heart
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"Rainbow Hummingbird" |
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Alive with color, it is as if the Anna’s hummingbird is at the center of the rainbow. Although we tend to picture hummingbirds as being constantly in flight, they actually spend most of their time perched. Their life is a delicate balancing act between expending and conserving energy.
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"Hummingbird Heaven" Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus) Alpine, Arizona |
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In July and August, many rufous hummingbirds migrate south along the Continental Divide, in concert with the blooming of the wildflowers. At an altitude of 8,000 feet, the flower-filled alpine meadows in the town named for them, are a glorious sight--and to the eye of the hummingbird searching for nectar, must be pure heaven.
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"Hummer Lady" Broad-billed hummingbird (Cynanthus latirostris) Coronado National Forest, Arizona |
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This female broad-billed hummingbird took advantage of a dead tree limb and nested under its sheltering arms. The nest was only about four feet above the ground and exceptionally well camouflaged. What more beautiful example of the living earth could there be?