Author: tmichaelwilliams

Recent hummingbirds at Ash Canyon.

From top:

Rufous (Selasphorus rufus). This immature male is displaying the first of his brilliant gold gorget feathers.

Broad-tailed (Selasphorus platycercus) taking an early morning dip. 

Anna’s (Calypte anna).

Broad-billed female (Cynanthus latirostris).

Male and female calliope (Selasphorus calliope). We are in the last days of the late-summer stopover in southeastern Arizona, before most of the hummingbirds complete their migration and move on to Central and South America. The calliopes are the most recent visitors to arrive, and I am completely captivated by them. The male is such a standout, with his long, garnet-colored gorget feathers. But the tiny female has won my heart. I rarely see her at nectar feeders; she has a marked preference for flowers. Calliopes are the smallest hummingbirds in the United States, with bodies no bigger than the final joint of my thumb. I love the irony of this tiny bird sharing the name of the Greek muse Calliope, the muse of eloquence and epic poetry, and the most assertive and powerful of the nine muses. 

“The Lamb” by William Blake, from Songs of Innocence, 1789.

Little Lamb who made thee
        Dost thou know who made thee
Gave thee life & bid thee feed.
By the stream & o’er the mead;
Gave thee clothing of delight,
Softest clothing wooly bright;
Gave thee such a tender voice,
Making all the vales rejoice!
        Little Lamb who made thee
        Dost thou know who made thee

        Little Lamb I’ll tell thee,
        Little Lamb I’ll tell thee!
He is called by thy name,
For he calls himself a Lamb:
He is meek & he is mild,
He became a little child:
I a child & thou a lamb,
We are called by his name.
        Little Lamb God bless thee.
        Little Lamb God bless thee.

The illustration is adapted from a hand-colored copy of Blake’s book in the Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection at the Library of Congress, and is in the public domain.