Hummingbird Moth

The other evening, while getting food for Sow at the walking street, I happened to spot the smallest hummingbird I'd ever seen. It was only about an inch and a quarter long, and it zipped around the various plants that a man was selling. Hovering from flower to flower, drinking nectar. I stared transfixed. It must be a baby hummingbird? But every time I started to get a close look, it would zip off to another plant. How tiny it was with hints of iridescent red and green. I could just make out it's tongue sipping from each flower. Then whisp! It'd shoot off again.

The guy saw me staring and started talking to me with excitement, in thai. He noticed the confused look on my face and stuck his hands to the sides of his head with each pointer finger sticking straight out. I looked back at the tiny bird and noticed two antenna. But birds don't have... wait, this must be some sort of butterfly or moth!? It's wings whipped at an amazing blur. And it's body hovered stealth-like. Not the kinds of things I'd expect from a clumsy moth. Moths to flutter wildly and bump into things, drawn to the nearest light bulb. This one drained every flower with precision.



I wasn't able to get a pic, but I dug around online and found some similar photos. Try and imagine it really blurry.