Mountain Hummers

This tiny but surprisingly robust little bird is highly prized for its ability to locate the elusive Mountain Oxygyne flower whose pollen is a valued trading commodity throughout the northern kingdoms. Being a Hummer farmer is truly a patience testing occupation as the tiny bird live their life at very high speeds.

Additional Information

Domestication

The bird is often kept in captivity and trained by special Aviar farmers. Any given aviar farmer takes care of between 100 and 200 birds. They are then painstakingly trained to return to the aviary each night after browsing the surrounding hills and mountains for the Mountain Oxygyne flower, which constitutes the main part of the birds natural diet.

Uses, Products & Exploitation

The Mountain Hummers are primarily farmed for their ability to find the elusive Mountain Oxygyne flower. The pollen of this flower has the ability make any food taste like exactly what the eater desires, which naturally has lead to it being extremely sought after. The problem is that the flower is extremely difficult to find and it might take the best rangers a full day to find a single specimen. It was realized however that the local humer birds actually lived off the nectar of the flowers. At first people attempted to follow the birds to the flowers but this proved little better than the blind search due to the diminuitive size and high speed of the birds.
Now the pollen is carefully collected from the feathers of the tiny birds using a brush while very carefully preventing the bird from shaking it off outside the container. Needless to say the job as Hummar Aviar farmer is only for the most patient of people. This is especially true since training the tiny birds takes six to eight months and the birds unfortunately live only 2 to 3 years. However, with a well trained flock and good hunting grounds an aviar farmer can make thousands of gold per year so the patience is well compensated.