In 1882, John James Audubon met Anna Masséna, also known as the Princess d’Essling and Duchess of Rivoli, in Paris. He described her as “a beautiful young woman, not more than twenty, extremely graceful and polite.”

Five years earlier, young Anna had married Francois Victor Masséna who, along with his collection of grand titles, was an amateur ornithologist who accumulated 12,500 bird specimens.

One of them was an unidentified hummingbird.



Audubon wasn’t the only one smitten by Anna’s beauty. She also caught the eye of René-Primevere Lesson, a surgeon and naturalist who in 1882 left France for a four-year journey that would take him to South America and up the Pacific coast. The hard work began when he returned home and had to catalogue all the specimens he’d gathered.

Among them was the same hummingbird that was in the prince’s collection.

Lesson decided to name the bird in honour of Anna, who served as the Grand-Maitresse (Mistress of the Robes) to the Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III.

https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/courier-archive/community/who-was-anna-vancouvers-official-bird-has-royal-pedigree-3052311

When you think of fierce, strong, noble animals…ones that would be a perfect symbol of the supreme power wielded by an all-mighty Aztec god, you would probably consider a vicious bear, dangerous alligator, or regal jaguar. But for Huitzilopochtli, the Aztec god of the sun and war, the most powerful god in the Aztec mythology, the fiercest, mightiest spirit animal he could attach to was a surprise contender…the diminutive hummingbird.

The Aztecs believed that hummingbirds were the reincarnation of fallen warriors. When a warrior was killed in battle, he would return to Earth as a hummingbird, which the Aztec people referred to as ‘dart hurlers.’

Don’t let the small size fool you. Hummingbirds are one of the most aggressive of all the bird species. Fighting happens frequently among hummingbirds, even one of the same species. They fight over territory, food sources, and, of course, female hummingbirds. Male hummingbirds, experts tell us, fight more often over territory. Female hummingbirds fight to defend their nests. During battle, the diminutive hummingbird will stab its opponent with its dagger-like beak and claw at him using its razor-sharp talons.

https://curioushistorian.com/the-most-powerful-aztec-god-had-the-hummingbird-as-his-spirit-animal