Hummingbirds: A Celebration of Nature‘s Jewels
Book by Glenn Bartley and Andy Swash
Princeton U. Pr., BirdLife International & WILDGuides. 2022. 288p. Hardbound. $35.00.
With over 540 superb photographs and a deeply-informative text this splendid, semi-outsized title (c. 9” X 11”) is almost a bargain at $35. Perennial favorites, owls and hummers enjoy a new title or two every year. This one is arguably the best ever for hummingbirds.
The arresting color photos show all 101 hummer genera and more than two thirds of the world’s 369 hummingbird species. Pages 256-273 list all species and include their conservation status, a map of their range, if monotypic or with subspecies, pages for further detail, elevational distribution, population trend, written range description, and seasonal distribution.
There is so much more value in this book than the outstanding illustrations. For instance there are chapters or sections on conservation, hummingbirds and people, taxonomy, iridescence, breeding behavior, pollination, threats, anatomy, flight mechanisms, torpor, bills, and hybrids. Pages 274-275 list hummers originally described as distinct species, but later research determined these were “the same as another named species”, aberrant, or immature forms of other species.
Especially dramatic are full-page photos of some of the more spectacular hummers, especially those with incredibly long tails, or complex, astounding plumages, such as Sapphire-spangled Emerald, the two Jamaican streamertails, Horned Sunbeam, Sword-billed Hummingbird, Red-tailed Comet, Blue-throated Hillstar, and several dozen others whose names alone hint at their extravagant appearance.
The “Further reading and sources of useful information” is a bit minimalist. On p. 277 only 11 book sources are listed, and just 2 “key papers”, and 5 “online resources and taxonomic lists”. Granted, the literature on hummers is vast, but Hummingbirds would have been more valuable still if these lists had been more extensive. I would have liked to have seen an essay on the recent great increase of western hummingbird occurrences in the U.S. East. And more information about the extraordinary authors!
Photographs of habitat and of hummers on their nests are other features enhancing Hummingbirds, as is an aerial shot of a 300+ foot geoglyph, centuries old, probably inspired by the Sword-billed Hummingbird.
Countries with the greatest hummingbird variety include Colombia (161 species), Ecuador (136), Peru (132), and Venezuela (104). The authors even list the more exotic sources of hummers’ names, including gemstones (53 names, such as amethyst, emerald, garnet, topaz), metals (33 names, such as bronze, copper, gold), celestial terms (59 names, including comet, star, sun), “manifestations of color” (33 names, e.g. scintillant, glowing, spangled), and colors per se (109 names).
It is hard in just a few hundred words to give enough credit to this splendid book. Start off just looking at the shots of the unbelievable Marvelous Spatuletail. The rest of Hummingbirds only will increase one’s awe and wonderment.
- Henry T. Armistead