Many folks wondered how John J Audubon was able to get so close to hummingbirds in order to paint them.
He would fill up a small cup with red wine wait for a hummingbird to be attracted to the color and then watch the hummer sip the wine. After a short wait the now giddy hummer would tumble too the ground drunk, where upon Audubon with great loving care pick it up, gently posed the new feathered model and then quickly penciled an outline of the bird before the hummer woke up and flew away. The hummingbird paid a small price, (hangover) to be immortalized in Audubon's magnificent Birds of America.
Bob Righter
Denver, CO
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