Spirit Guide of the day is Hummingbird! Joy is in the air! This guide comes to lift the heaviness of negativity in order to enhance the joy of life. Now is a time where you may be going through a heart-opening experience with the chance to pull more and more love into your life. Openly express this love with the others around you, adding sweetness to your life and those around you. Hummingbird reminds us that we can take time to enjoy life's small moments and joys. To remember playful behavior and lightness of thought. During this time, be able to take the twists and turns of life with flexibility. These birds symbolize quick motion, resiliency, and flexibility. Work on your skills at changing directions with grace and to be willing to adapt to situations as required. Hummingbird works to remind us to take care of ourselves with proper rest and food in order to keep enough energy for your fast-paced work. Bring flowers into your life, filling your home with the smells and colors of flowers. The motion of a Hummingbird's wings creates a figure 8, also known as the infinity symbol, and creates a connection of these birds as a sign of continuity and eternity. In Central America, Hummingbirds are a sign of love while Aztecs saw them as messengers between them, the gods, and their ancestors.People who connect with Hummingbird are strongly independent, willing to flee swiftly if that independence is threatened by others. These individuals are full of joy with a great positive outlook on life, drawn to others who are positive while avoiding the negative energies of harsh individuals due to their sensitive nature. An important aspect of these souls would be the requirement of a job to let them work as much outdoors as possible. They are a confusing type to others who don't understand how Hummingbird souls can switch emotions swiftly from passionate to distant to intimate and others within a moments notice.

Hummingbirds, Trochilidae, are small birds related most closely to Swifts. These avians only weigh as much as 2-20 grams and have small saber-like wings, long narrow bills, and a wide range of brilliant colors. The smallest hummingbird is the Bee Hummingbird found in Cuba which is only 1.95 grams in weight. There are approximately 340 species of hummingbirds and they live exclusively in the Western Hemisphere ranging from Southeastern Alaska to southern Chile. They can be found in habitats such as below sea level deserts, steamy tropical forests, and up to 16,000 feet up in the Andes of South America. The majority of Hummingbird species live in the tropics, however, there are 17 species that nest within the United States. Of these, many of them can be found close to the Mexican border. Only the Ruby-throated Hummingbird nests east of the Mississippi. The western U.S inhabitants migrate through the lowlands in the spring and return in the summer through the mountains in order to track the blooming of annual plants. An amazing feature the Hummingbirds are known for is their flight. Both Hummingbirds and Swifts are able to stroke with power on both the down and up beats of their wings. This allows them a unique strength of flight and maneuverability. Hummingbirds are the only vertebrates capable of sustained hovering and have the ability to fly backwards as well as upside down. They have been recorded at speeds of up to 30 mphs during indirect flight and can reach 45 mphs during courtship dives. The migratory Ruby-throated Hummingbird has the ability to power their flight with fat stores and, with the help of wind, fly up to 18-20 straight hours in order to cross the Gulf of Mexico. These fast birds need a fast heart to keep up with this flight. The heartbeat of the ruby-throated Hummingbird reaches 225 beats in a minute at rest with an amazing 1,200 beats during flight. Its wings beat around 70 times per second in flight and, while diving, can beat over 200 times per second. Unfortunately, their feathers offer poor insulation and this fast lifestyle requires an amazingly high metabolic demand on their bodies. They need to maintain a body temperature of around 105 degrees Fahrenheit in order to survive. In order to help with these bodily demands, Hummingbirds are one of the few groups of birds known to go into what is called Torpor. Torpor is a deep sleep-like state in which metabolic functions are slowed to a minimum and a much lower body temperature is able to be maintained. Hummingbirds can go into Torpor is similar to hibernation, except that these birds can go into Torpor any night of the year when temperature and food conditions demand it. To keep up with their metabolism, these birds must locate reliable food sources. They are bound to the flowering seasons of plants, evolving this mobile lifestyle in order to keep of with the changing pattern of flower production over time. Particular flowers will often attract Hummingbirds. These flowers are those that produce a large amount of nectar containing up to 26% sugar, twice as much as in your average soft drink. Many of the flowers Hummingbirds choose are long, tubular flowers that often hang downwards which are easily to access for the long beaked, hovering birds. However, at times such as breeding season, Hummingbirds can hover mid-air to catch small insects to eat as well as feed to their nestlings. In the northern and high- elevation areas, Hummingbirds depend highly on sapwells of woodpeckers known as sapsucks. These woodpeckers are able to keep the sweet sap of a tree running, giving the smaller hummingbirds a chance to whisk in and eat. Not very sociable, Hummingbirds are often quite feisty and will often chase each other in dramatic mid-air fights. Other hummingbirds near a similar flower are only competition for the sweet nectar that they are dependent on. In order to feed as much as possible, chasing away other hummingbirds is the best way to get a full meal. Many Hummingbirds will defend small territories around a favorite flower patch. Even during breeding, Hummingbirds do not form a pair-bond until after mating and, afterwards, the female is left all alone to care for the eggs and nestlings. The eggs of hummingbirds are the smallest bird eggs, the Ruby-throated Hummingbird laying only one or two eggs per nest which are the size of peas laid in a nest the size of a walnut shell that are built from spider webs and plant material. The female Hummingbird would rather be alone anyway, as having a male around would only create further competition for nectar sources around the nest. The closest social behavior in Hummingbirds would be located in the Tropics. There is where small groups of males will come together into groups called Leks where they will gather for months at a time to sing songs in an effort to attract females. Although competition starts once again as females arrive and the males compete for the opportunity to mate. Humans often help with this life-long struggle for food by creating hummingbird feeders containing a mixture of sugar water or by planting hummingbird specific plants such as Trumpet Creepers, Coral Honeysuckle, and Bee Balm.