Hummingbird

The Hummingbird is a bird encountered by the narrator one morning in his Los Angeles home, where it had been trapped overnight after a gust of wind slammed the door. Its brief confinement and release become a concrete example of the narrator’s commitment to helping other living beings: after opening a window and watching it fly out, he feels that he has not lived in vain.

The Encounter

At the time, the narrator is Consul General of France in Los Angeles. He finds the Hummingbird perched on a cushion in his living room. It is minuscule and, after spending the night enclosed by four walls, has lost the courage to try to fly. The narrator describes it as unable to understand its predicament and grieving in a voice that it cannot hear for itself.

Release

The narrator opens the window, and the Hummingbird flies out. The action is simple, but the outcome brings him uncommon happiness: a vulnerable creature that had been trapped is free. The account emphasizes the bird’s particular circumstances and its own need to escape, rather than presenting its release as an abstract gesture.

Significance in the Narrator’s Account

The episode appears as one example of the narrator’s efforts to keep a promise and serve others. He links his service to France with what remains of his mother, then offers the Hummingbird’s release as an instance of having done something for another living being. Its escape does not resolve the larger losses behind that promise, but it gives the narrator a definite, immediate reason to feel that his life has had value.