LUCIFER HUMMINGBIRDS
IN MAGUEY FIELDS
Last Saturday morning I hitched a ride with the
tree- planting fellows into the mountains southwest of Jalpan, to a few miles south of
Pinal de Amoles. It was a hot, muggy morning in Jalpan but as we ascended the too-curvy
road with me riding in the back of the truck the wind felt cooler and fresher with every
mile.
Maguey, the giant agave from which the fermented drink pulque is made, grows on dry,
eroded slopes in those highlands as well as in the hot Jalpan Valley, so as I roamed the
area's backroads I passed plenty of it. A commonly occurring bird zipping among the maguey
plants uttering high-pitched, excited-sounding twittering chips was the very pretty
Lucifer Hummingbird, both sexes of which are shown close-up at http://www.woodley.ws/pages/Hummingbirds/LuciferHummingbird.htm.
The tiny male's most distinguishing features are his glittering,
rose-pink-with-violet-blue-highlighted throat area, or gorget, plus his deeply forked
tail. The female is much less spectacular with her green and black top, buff throat and
belly, and normal tail.
Lucifer Hummingbirds are shown in North American field guides because the species'
distribution barely extends into southern Texas and Arizona. Unlike most Mexican
hummingbird species (about 65 species are listed), Lucifers are migratory, occurring in
northern and central Mexico during the summer, and south- central Mexico during the
winter. |