This is Bird Note.

Hummingbirds have been revered as symbols of beauty, freedom, and life for thousands of years.

In Asian Mexico, Mayan rulers adorned elaborate headdresses with their image.

For the Aztecs, hummingbirds embodied the power of the god Wichilopostly.

But over the last several centuries, hummingbirds became victims of a grim ritual, love spells.

Today, some brujos, who practice an eclectic kind of witchcraft,

claim that carrying a hummingbird close to your heart can make

someone fall in love with you. The hummingbirds are illegally trapped, killed, wrapped in red

cloth with herbs, and sold as amulets called Chuparosa charms. With the promise of eternal devotion,

the Chuparosa charms are marketed to superstitious buyers in Mexico and the United States, where they are smuggled for sale on the black market.

Paging for love spells puts additional pressure on hummingbird species already struggling because of habitat loss and climate change, and authorities are cracking down.

Possessing, selling, or killing a hummingbird for these rituals can lead to prison time and

heavy fines.

Contrary to deadly superstitions, a hummingbird's true magic is in the flash of wings, the glint of feathers,

the impossible flights.

Because once you experience a hummingbird's beauty in real life,

it's hard not to fall in love with them.

For Bird Note, I'm Shake Gyis Bech.