They hum. It’s in the name. They also are, despite what one may think, birds. This is yet another case where the description is spot-on, unlike anywhere where metaphor has laid its dirty hands; there things get more complex.
White elephants can be white elephants, but do not have to be. Elephants in the room rarely are, and people blowing their own trumpet do not have to be deafening you with their self-heralding. Also, trumpet players, even those in orchestras, are likely very modest.
But back to hummingbirds; what sort of metaphor could they be? Small, delicate and nectar-drinking, they have been unfairly discarded in favour of butterflies, and this is likely to lead to war at somepoint.
Imagine, if you will, the phalanxes of AK-47 toting hummingbirds, fur caps emblazoned with red stars (why not?) advancing on the terrified butterflies who have yet to work out what on earth is going on. They never really have a chance, being mowed down in their millions by the furiously humming hummingbirds who show no mercy, and achieve a stunning and total victory, the butterflies cocooned lifestyle meaning they have no idea how to survive danger. However the results are not quite what the hummingbirds envisioned; true, the offending metaphor slowly dies, butterflies are not replaced with hummingbirds; for these are now synonymous with brutality and slaughter.
More nonsense by Severely Odd is available on Amazon to buy or read with kindle unlimited. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Severely-Odd/e/B00OB4006U
Severely odd 