The Hummingbird Dance

Tara, the one-year-old hummingbird who had recently arrived at Breeches Lake from a long trip from Mexico, was a little tired. Flying 3,000 km in one week, even for a young hummingbird, is quite a challenge.

But she was happy being single and enjoying the cooler weather of Southern Canada.

Food was aplenty as many flowers with delicious nectar were available, and a few hummingbird feeders had been arranged by the locals at her current location at Breeches Lake.

And yet, life was not quite right unless she found a suitable mate to build a family.

It was mid-May, the weather was superb, and suddenly, while drinking from a plastic feeder full of sugar, a male hummingbird appeared in front of her eyes. He was beautiful and started a strange dance that would bring his delicate body to move very quickly, left to right and then right to left, all in front of Tara.

She was very surprised seeing this display, so she said. ‘Good morning, friend, what do you want?”

Ruby - that was his name - responded, while panting from all the dancing, “I have seen you and I would like to pay my respect to you. I have not seen a female as beautiful as you are. I would like to know if you object to us being friends and perhaps lovers.”

Tara was a bit confused, but she was not going to jump into a relationship that fast. Her parents told her that she had to choose the most suitable male to continue the family line. Certainly, he had to be a fast flyer. They had been flying 1,000 km in one day, and having a slow flyer in the family would make the whole trip an utter disaster. Also, he had to be a good sucker as he would have to help with feeding the young chicks when they are born. The eggs are tiny, not bigger than a green pea, and precision with the beak is essential. He also had to be a good fighter, with a wing velocity of at least 80 flaps per second. Otherwise, a foreign hummingbird could decide to take over the nest, and that would be a family nightmare.

While she was thinking about her mother's advice, Ruby became impatient. “So, what do you say? By the way, my name is Ruby. May I know yours?”

“Of course, my name is Tara, and this is the first time that I am visiting these lands. The lake is beautiful and there are many nectar flowers here. I have listened to your proposal, and I thank you for your niceties, but before I agree to be your friend, I need to know a bit more about you. “

Ruby said, “By all means. Please tell me what you want to know.”

Tara did not want to upset Ruby, but she had to be clear, so she said, “First, to prove that you are a good flyer, you have to fly to Virginia Beach in a single day and come back the following day. You have to bring me a small petal of the Coneflower, which is native to Virginia Beach. When you come back, I will ask you a second and final question.”

Ruby did not waste any time. He filled his tiny stomach with sugar from the feeder and flew off. Two days passed, and little Ruby appeared, quite exhausted, in front of beautiful Tara and deposited a small petal of the Coneflower.

She was so happy to see him back that she greeted him with a little dance. Then she gave him the second request. “Thank you, Ruby. It is quite a feat to make the trip that you have just completed, and I praise you greatly for it. The second and last request is that you have to move up two feet and down two feet each time, twenty times; then left and right, two feet apart each time, and you have to do it twenty times. The forty movements have to be done in less than one minute. If you accomplish this task, it will be proof that you are a good warrior, and I will be happy to be your friend and lover.”

Ruby replied, “I am sure I can do that. But I need to drink sugar to regain strength. Then I will do it in front of you.”

Ruby filled his little tummy with the sugar drink and rested for a few minutes. His heart was beating at 250 beats per minute. Then he went to where Tara was and started the test. Tara said. “Three, two, one, go!” Ruby started to dance up and down and then left and right, as fast as he could. After forty movements, he stopped. Tara looked at a clock on the wall of the porch where they were. Only fifty seconds had elapsed.

“Ruby, you are my hero and my friend. Welcome to our family.” Ruby was so happy that he did an extra dance for Tara. They had five little eggs a few weeks later, placed in a tiny nest built on a branch of a pine, and the chicks were born by mid-July.

By the end of the summer, seven little hummingbirds flew as a family to warmer lands in Mexico. And the big secret is that only they know how to return the following spring, to the same lake and the same cottage where they became a family.