Colophon

There are three species of hummingbird on the cover of Microinteractions: the rubythroat (Archilochus colubris), the ruby topaz (Chrysolampis mosquitus), and the fiery topaz (Topaza pyra). Hummingbirds are small birds of the family Trochilidae that feed off the nectar of trumpet-shaped flowers. They are characterized by their iridescent plumage, especially the males, who show off their brightly colored throats to attract females. Hummingbirds are also known for their rapidly beating wings, which can beat over 50 times per second.

The rubythroat hummingbird is unique in being the only hummingbird that breeds in eastern North America. Like most hummingbirds, the rubythroat is a solitary creature, appearing with others of its kind only during mating season and with its young for the first two weeks of their lives. The rubythroat hummingbird has become accepting of contact with humans and will show up at bird feeders, occasionally investigating anyone wearing bright red clothing due to the color of the flowers it normally feeds on.

The ruby topaz hummingbird lacks the curved wings of the rubythroat, and is found at both low and high altitudes. It too has acclimated itself to cultivated land and gardens. Some of these birds are sedentary and some are migratory, depending on the location of their range. The ruby topaz is not shy and can be found throughout southern Central America, much of South America, and the Lesser Antilles. It gets its name from the yellow throat and bright red crown of the male.

The fiery topaz, also known as the Inca topaz hummingbird, has a habitat restricted to South America, as its nickname suggests. Like the ruby topaz hummingbird, it has an iridescent yellow throat, but has a dark cap and a red breast instead. Unlike the rubythroat hummingbird, this bird does not migrate, preferring to breed in its native territory and sequester itself in the rainforest canopy. Despite its bright throat plumage and relatively large size, the fiery topaz is hard to find, and there are still arguments over whether or not this species is its own classification, or a subspecies of the crimson topaz (Topaza pella).

The cover image is an original design by Karen Montgomery, inspired by Wood’s Animate Creation. The cover font is Adobe ITC Garamond. The text font is Adobe Minion Pro; the heading font is Adobe Myriad Condensed; and the code font is Dalton Maag’s Ubuntu Mono.