Fact check: Chickadee figurine, not world's smallest bird, shown in online photos
Nayeli LomeliThe claim: Images show the Zunzuncito, the smallest bird in the world
An photo that purports to show the world's smallest bird has become a big source of misinformation on Facebook.
The photo, which was shared in a June 23 post, shows a tiny bird sitting on a person’s index finger.
"The Zunzuncito is the smallest bird in the world. It is also called fly bird, elf or bee bird," says a caption on the post, which was published in a group called "The Most Beautiful Pictures In The World" and has more than 1,400 shares.
Cuba's Zunzuncito, or bee hummingbird, is considered the world's smallest bird, according to the National Audubon Society. But the image in the Facebook post does not show a Zunzuncito — or even a real bird.
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The post actually shows a handmade sculpture of a chickadee. The claim has been around since at least 2019 and has been shared in Spanish, too.
USA TODAY reached out to the Facebook user who shared the post for comment.
Images show figurine from 2019
The photos seen in various Facebook posts show a chickadee figurine created by a Bulgarian artist.
USA TODAY found an image that matches the one posted on Facebook from a Pinterest account called "Malinik Miniatures." The page has a board called "My miniature birds and animals." There are hedgehog figurines, as well as squirrels, dogs, and guinea pigs.
The photos resemble the chickadee photo in the Facebook post. In each image, a hand holds the figurine to give users a perspective of its size.
USA TODAY also found a Facebook page with the name "Malinik Miniature Animals," which was created in 2012.
"Chickadee bird coming soon," reads a Feb. 3, 2019, post from the page.
The Agence France-Presse reported in 2019 that the artist behind Malinik Miniatures is Ina Gancheva.
Gancheva, who's from Bulgaria and lives in the United States, told the news outlet she created the figurine and was aware of Facebook users "publishing my photos without my authorization and saying that this is the world’s smallest bird." An older version of her Facebook page said she worked primarily with polymer clay, wire, feathers and fibers.
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USA TODAY reached out to Gancheva for comment.
Our rating: False
The claim that images show a Zunzuncito, the smallest bird in the world, is FALSE, based on our research. The photos show a chickadee figurine made by a Bulgarian artist in 2019.
Our fact-checking sources:
- Facebook post, June 23
- Malinik Miniatures, accessed June 25, Pinterest
- Malinik Miniatures, accessed June 25, Pinterest board - My miniature birds and animals
- Malinik Miniatures, Oct. 18, 2019, Facebook post
- Snopes, Dec. 17, 2019, Is This a Photo of a Zunzuncito, the World’s Smallest Bird?
- AFP, Nov. 27, 2019, This image shows a handmade miniature, not the world’s smallest bird
- National Audobon Society, Sept. 17, 2018, Get to Know the Bee Hummingbird, the World’s Smallest Bird
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Our fact check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.
