Hummingbirds have captured our imaginations with their unsurpassed jewel-like plumage, acrobatic flight, and ethereal presence. Their fascinating history has frequently intersected with ours: They are present in folklore, art, fashion, and literature. In Native people’s oral traditions, hummingbirds often served as messengers between the living and the spirit world.

Drawing on his book The Glitter in the Green, nature writer Jon Dunn recalls his adventures following hummingbirds from Alaska to the tip of South America. Along the way, he marooned on a Chilean island to catch a glimpse of the rare Juan Fernández Firecrown, trekked through the Andes in search of a hummingbird unseen for decades, and visited a market in Mexico City to learn of dark superstitions surrounding them.

Join Dunn for a fascinating discussion about the hummingbirds’ history, life cycles, and environmental threats—and become one of the many they have already enchanted.

Dunn’s book The Glitter in the Green (Basic Books) is available for purchase.

Book Sale Information

• Purchase your copy of The Glitter in the Green by Jon Dunn here.
• Special Note: Politics and Prose is offering a 10% discount to Smithsonian Associates ticket-holders. To claim your discount, enter the code SPECIAL10 (no space between letters and numbers) in the “Coupon discount” section on Politics and Prose's check-out page.

Patron Information

• If you register multiple individuals, you will be asked to supply individual names and email addresses so they can receive a Zoom link email. Please note that if there is a change in program schedule or a cancellation, we will notify you via email, and it will be your responsibility to notify other registrants in your group.
• Unless otherwise noted, registration for streaming programs typically closes two hours prior to the start time on the date of the program.
• Once registered, patrons should receive an automatic email confirmation from CustomerService@SmithsonianAssociates.org.
• Separate Zoom link information will be emailed closer to the date of the program. If you do not receive your Zoom link information 24 hours prior to the start of the program, please email Customer Service for assistance.
• View Common FAQs about our Streaming Programs on Zoom.