Anna Hummingbird Bathing
Anna Hummingbird Bathing
One warm summer day in 1924, a half mile north of Yountville, on the Calistoga highway, I was standing by an old windmill, when, suddenly I noticed an Anna Hummingbird (Calupte anna) fly down onto the pump below. As the pump was old and needed repairs it was a small fountain whenever the windmill was running; and the top of the pump, forming a small basin, was covered nearly a quarter of an inch deep with water. The hummingbird entered this basin and began bathing, splashing the water in much the same manner as would a tams canary. Afterward it flew to a willow close by, and, perching on a twig, shook its feathers and began preening and drying itself in the warm sunshine. After a few minutes it flew away.
James L. Ortega
Yountville, California, January 27, 1926
