The hummingbird, a threatened bird turned into an amulet in the name of love
In some markets of Mexico City, in recent years, an esoteric custom has proliferated around hummingbirds: dissecting them to become part of amulets that, according to locals, have the power to attract love.
“The stuffed hummingbird is put in a red cloth bag with rose petals, along with the photo of the loved one and, if you want greater effectiveness, underwear is put on. The amulet is always carried at chest height, for men it can be in the shirt and for women in the bra”, explains Nancy, a tenant of the Juárez Market, located in the country's capital, to her clients.
The "mooring" has a cost of two thousand pesos.
In the Sonora Market, also in Mexico City, you can access the sale of "criadero" hummingbirds, a title that bears a striking poster whose objective is that the client does not fear making the purchase when doubting the legality of the origin.
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However, the caged animals on display here are far from the agile and colorful hummingbirds that roam free and travel long distances between Alaska and South America.
They sport brown plumage, their wrinkled skin resembles a prune, and they do not fly. In fact, they don't even move.
The researcher at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and leader of the "Monitoring of the hummingbirds of Mexico in the Cantera Oriente" project, María Arizmendi, assures that it is impossible to reproduce hummingbirds of any species in captivity, since, if a hummingbird is more than 10 minutes without eating, dies.
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"The person who raises them would have to be 200% dedicated to feeding him, as if he were a newborn, but with twice the effort," she adds.
For his part, biologist Humberto Berlanga, coordinator of the Initiative for the Conservation of North American Birds (ICAAN) Mexico, maintains that all the hummingbirds that are sold are illegally captured.
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Berlanga, author of the book "Hummingbirds of Mexico and North America," adds that there are 340 species of hummingbirds in the world, of which 58 live in Mexico.
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According to the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat), in Mexico three species are in danger of extinction, nine are threatened and six are subject to special protection.
The others are not in any risk category, being considered common species with a wide distribution.
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The three most endangered species are:
According to Berlanga, these three species are at maximum risk due to human activities that are reducing their habitat, the use of pesticides and the effects of climate change, which could alter the timing between the flowering periods of some plant species.
In support of the conservation of these birds, Arizmendi proposed in 2013 to the UNAM university community a project to create gardens for these pollinators.
This project consists of placing plants with tubular flowers such as aretillos, trumpets and bunting in the open air, as well as a drinking fountain with water containing 20% sugar, equivalent to 2,500 flowers together.
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This would be enough food to give a better quality of life to the smallest bird on the planet, which weighs from two to 24 grams.
Both experts agree that the hummingbird could be in better condition with a greater participation of society, which many times, due to daily activities, becomes more and more alienated and unaware of the health of the natural environment.
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With information from EFE.
RMT