Question
Are hummingbirds kosher, for the Kan Tzipor Mitzvah?
Answer
The Torah does not give us the signs for the kosher birds, rather a list of all those that we are not allowed to eat; All the rest are kosher. (Vayikra 11; 13-19)
The rabbis in the Mishnah (Chulin 59a) give us signs to recognize a kosher bird.
In any event we only eat those that we have a tradition to eat; the hummingbird is out of that list.
The Mitzvah of Shiluach HaKen does not apply for the same reason. (Shulchan Aruch YD 292; 1)
