Pictured on the cover of our June 2010 issue (right) is the world's smallest bird: a male Bee Hummingbird. It measures 2.5 inches from the tip of the beak to the tip of the tail, and it weighs 1.6 to 1.9 grams. That’s a mere 0.056 to 0.067 ounces. In fact, the cover photo shows the bird at more than twice its actual size. The species is found only in Cuba and on the nearby Isle of Pines.
While we were editing the issue, I looked for photos of Bee Hummingbirds to illustrate Founding Editor Eldon Greij's “Amazing Birds” column, which is about the amazing adaptations of hummingbirds. I didn't find what I was looking for, so I decided to check Flickr.
When I saw a photo by British photographer Rich Andrews of an adult male feeding at a flower, I knew I’d found a winner. And later, when Art Director Carole Ross mocked up a cover with Rich’s photo, we knew immediately that we had a perfect cover photo, too.
I asked Rich how and where he took the image. I was particularly curious about his technique because his shot was so much better than the other photos I’d seen of the species.
Rich and several friends were on a 10-day birding holiday in Cuba in March 2009. He found and photographed the bird on March 15 at Bermejas, a great spot for Cuban endemics southeast of Havana.
“We had been shown the hummingbird site by a local guide the previous day whilst looking for [endemic] Blue-headed Quail-Doves,” Rich says. “And we made sure that the hummingbird was one of the species we didn’t miss.”
“We had to prioritize our time to ensure we saw all we could on the island, so it was a case of birding first, photography second. Luckily the birds are a lot more accommodating than they are in the UK, so it was easy to stroll up to subjects and just snap away!”
The hummingbird was feeding “quite high-up on the flowers” against a clear blue sky. Rich was prepared with top-notch camera equipment. He used a Canon EOS 40D, an EF 500mm f/4L lens, an EF 1.4x extender, and a 550EX flash. The gear was mounted on a tripod.
After spying the hummingbird, Rich and his comrades moved on to find other birds. He doesn’t have a final tally but says they saw most of the island’s 21 endemics, as well as many migratory birds.
If you’re keeping score, the Bee Hummingbird is the sixth hummingbird species that has appeared on a Birder’s World cover. The others are Allen’s, Anna’s, Buff-bellied, Costa’s, and Rufous. And it’s the first bird from Cuba we’ve ever pictured on our cover. You might be surprised to learn that another Cuban bird was up for consideration for our August issue cover. But that’s another story. --Matt Mendenhall, Associate Editor
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