Peter,
Hummers remind me of the impossible treasures we have for ourselves and our children! I never ceased to marvel at them. My family had to drag me away from a hummer "station" in the jungle forrest in Costa Rica. Still, I had never seen such an impossible bird as this!
While we marvel at the white boots and that unimaginably long fantasy tail, consider this, the bird itself is a mere variant of a fruit fly!
That's how close our genetics are!
That is the incredible beauty of life over billions of variations, then millions of selections in changing environs. This is the magic that this single resting hummer, a Booted Racet-tail, represents!
The paradox is this:
If we lose this tiny bird, it's lost for ever.
The sweep of man's paintbrush, "sanitizes".
The game is no longer survival of the fittest
but of the very game itself!
So, for our own good, this bird has to be watched and guarded and then, perhaps there's still some chance for man!
Thanks so much Peter for this tiny miracle and beauty! Simply adorable!
Asher