The tiny hummingbird is native only to the Ameriacas and is a common visitor to the gardens of Nazca. In order to hover they flap their wings at up to 80 times per second depending upon the species, flying vertically and laterally and, unqiuely among birds, they can even fly backwards. They use their long bills to feed upon nectar deep in the flowers. The Bee Hummingbird is the smallest bird in the world weighing only 1.8 grams and is 5 cm long.

There are two major depictions of the hummingbird at Nazca, and the largest has a wingspan of over 60 metres or two hundred feet. Hummingbirds have featured widely in native American Mythology: In one Mayan legend they are the sun in disguise trying to court the moon, while another says they were made from the feather scraps left over from the creation of the other birds. The Aztecs believed that every warrior slain in battle orbited the sun for four years and then beame a hummingbird. Several South American cultures regarded them as messengers between the worlds.

The hummingbird
has been selected as the logo of the Airship Nazca project:

In mythology it represents a messenger of the gods, and it also reflects the hovering flight of the airship.