Lightweight Django

Colophon

The animals on the cover of Lightweight Django are vervain hummingbirds (Mellisuga minima). Native to Jamaica, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic, these non-migratory hummingbirds are common, favoring subtropical and tropical lowland forests.

While lacking the bright, jewellike plumage of other hummingbird species, they are notable for being the second smallest bird in the world, after the bee hummingbird of Cuba. The vervain measures roughly 2.4 inches in length, including its bill, and weighs between .07 and .08 ounces. These birds primarily feed on nectar from flowers, using their extendible tongues to lap up the nectar at a rate of 13 times per second.

Hummingbirds are solitary creatures, coming together only to breed. The male disperses immediately after copulation, leaving the female to build the nest and raise the young. These eggs are the smallest laid by any bird, at just a third of an inch in length, weighing .375 grams on average. Nests are barely the size of half a walnut shell.

Despite its diminutiveness, the vervain produces a loud, piercing song—often the only indication of its presence, as this bird can be difficult to spot due to its size. Highly vocal, the birds turn their heads from side to side as they sing.

Many of the animals on O’Reilly covers are endangered; all of them are important to the world. To learn more about how you can help, go to animals.oreilly.com.

The cover image is from Wood’s Natural History. The cover fonts are URW Typewriter and Guardian ...