I say everybody wants to laughBut nobody wants to cryEverybody wants to go to heavenBut nobody wants to die

~Albert King

For thousands of years, human theologians and religious leaders have debated the existence of heaven and what it takes to get there. If you are a hummingbird however, I believe the answer is simple. Heaven is here on earth, and it's in the Republic of Ecuador.

Hummingbirds are said to be the earth's second largest family of birds. It is estimated that about 328 species exist worldwide. Ecuador, which is approximately the size of the US state of Colorado, has within its boundaries over 130 of the world's hummingbird species. In other words, a country with about 0.2% of the earth's landmass has about 40% of all the hummingbird species. Since these little birds have been known to migrate over 4000 miles over the course of the year, it is in my opinion obvious, that they have chosen to live in Ecuador because they really like it there.

As a photographer and...