The Hummingbird Society is a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote the understanding and
conservation
Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws.
Conservation may also refer to:
Environment and natural resources
* Nature conservation, the protection and manageme ...
of
hummingbirds
Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the biological family Trochilidae. With about 361 species and 113 genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but the vast majority of the species are found in the tropics arou ...
. It was founded in 1996 by Dr. H. Ross Hawkins, who was its executive director until he died in early July 2020. His work and the Society continue and hummingbird lovers around the world acknowledge his enormous contribution. The Society's offices are currently at 6560 Highway 179, Suite 124, Sedona, Arizona, USA. Members can be found in all U.S. states and over twenty other countries.
Currently the society has partnership Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) with Oikonos and the Hummingbird Conservancy of Colombia for its efforts to protect the Juan Fernández Firecrown (JFF) ''Sephanoides fernandensis'' in Chile and the Colorful Puffleg ''Eriocnemis mirabilis'' in Colombia, respectively.
The society is funded primarily by memberships (individual, business, and corporate) and donations. In 2006, however, a new avenue of funding was opened through one of its corporate sponsors, a winery in California, US. Beginning that year, they introduced a new red wine, dedicating that year's vintage to a critically
endangered
An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...
hummingbird species. This raised nearly $20,000 for the JFF, the first species chosen. In 2007 they introduced the second wine, dedicated to the Honduran Emerald, and the third year to the Colorful Puffleg.
In 2012 the society held its first Sedona Hummingbird Festival in Sedona, Arizona. This event consisted of three days of presentations by hummingbird experts, hummingbird banding demonstrations, hummingbird garden tours, a gala banquet, and a hummingbird marketplace.
See also
*
Biodiversity
Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...
*
Ecology
Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...
References
External links
The home page of the Hummingbird Societythe home page of The Hummingbird Conservancythe home page of Oikonosthe home page of the Society's annual festival
Ornithological organizations in the United States
Environmental organizations based in Arizona
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