This is what they do in Mexico with the hummingbird, a threatened bird that has become an amulet

In some markets in Mexico City, an esoteric custom has proliferated in recent years around hummingbirds: dissecting them to become part of amulets that, according to locals, have the power to attract love.

"The stuffed hummingbird is placed in a red cloth bag with rose petals, along with the photo of the loved one and, if greater effectiveness is desired, underwear is placed on it. The amulet is always carried at chest height, to It can be in the shirt for men and in the bra for women," Nancy, a tenant of the Juarez Market, located in the country's capital, explains to her clients. Mexicans (about 105 dollars).

In the Sonora Market, also in the capital, you can access the sale of "criadero" hummingbirds, a title that bears a striking poster whose objective is that the client does not fear making the purchase when doubting the legality of the origin. "The couple has a cost of 1,000 pesos (52 dollars). Cheer up," says the seller.

However, the caged animals exhibited here are far from the agile and colorful hummingbirds that enjoy freedom and that come to travel long distances between Alaska and South America. These have brown plumage, their wrinkled skin resembles a prune and they do not they fly In fact, they don't even move.

The researcher at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and leader of the "Monitoring of the hummingbirds of Mexico in the Cantera Oriente" project, María Arizmendi, assures Efe that it is impossible to reproduce hummingbirds of any species in captivity, since, if a hummingbird goes more than 10 minutes without eating, it dies. "To begin with, there should be Management Units for the Conservation of Wildlife (UMAs) for hummingbirds and there is no UMA for this species registered with the Government," he argues. Then , adds that "the person who raises them would have to be 200% dedicated to their food, as if they were a newborn but with twice the effort." For his part, the biologist Humberto Berlanga, coordinator of the Initiative for the Conservation of North American Birds (ICAAN) Mexico, maintains to Efe that all hummingbirds that are sold are illegally captured. "The problem of the Sonora market is very old. In the last year and a half, people buy them to ha cer fetishes. There are also people who believe that eating them can help cure heart disease. These beliefs, which have no scientific basis, are ultimately a cultural expression of our country that has a direct impact on some hummingbird species," he says. Berlanga, author of the book "Hummingbirds of Mexico and North America," adds that there are 340 in the world species of hummingbirds, of which 58 live in Mexico. According to the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat), in the country three species are in danger of extinction, nine are threatened and six are subject to special protection. The rest are not are not in any category of risk, being considered as common species of wide distribution. which lives on the Yucatan coast and part of Veracruz, and the Miahuatleco hummingbird (Eupherusa cyanophrys), which is found in the Sierra de Miahuatlán, in Oaxaca. According to Berlanga, these three speciesthey are at greatest risk due to human activities that are reducing their habitat, the use of pesticides and the effects of climate change, which could alter the timing between the flowering periods of some plant species. In support of the conservation of these birds, Arizmendi proposed in 2013 to the UNAM university community a project to create gardens for these pollinators. This project consists of placing plants with tubular flowers such as aretillos, trumpets and bunting outdoors, as well as a drinking fountain with water containing a 20 % sugar, equivalent to 2,500 flowers together. This would be enough food to give a better quality of life to the smallest bird on the planet, which weighs from 2 to 24 grams. Both experts agree that the hummingbird could be in better condition with a greater participation of society, which many times, due to daily activities, becomes more and more alien and unconscious to the health of the natural environment.