Subject
EDNOTE on ADA and the Loddigesian hummingbird wallpaper
From
Date
Body
EDNOTE.
> The scarred male nude on the island's east coast is half-shaded, and, on
> the whole, less interesting, though considerably more aroused than is
> good for him or a certain type of tourist. The recently repapered wall
> immediately west of the now louder-murmuring (et pour cause) dorocene
> lamp is ornamented in the central girl's honor with Peruvian'
> honeysuckle' being visited (not only for its nectar, I'm afraid, but for
> the animalcules stuck in it) by marvelous Loddigesia Hummingbirds, while
> the bedtable on that side bears a lowly box of matches, a karavanchik of
> cigarettes, a Monaco ashtray, a copy of Voltemand's poor thriller, and a
> Lurid Oncidium Orchid in an amethystine vaselet.
-------------------------------
For all of you who have been wondering about those Loddigesian Hummingbirds
on the wallpaper of Van's bedroom in the famous menage a trois scene, see
www.montereybay.com/creagrus.spatuletail.html for several fabulous images.
The accompanying text is below. The "Lurid Oncidium orchid" (Oncidium
luridum) in the bedside vase is also found in Peru.
D. Barton Johnson
NABOKV-L
---------------------------------------------------
MARVELOUS SPATULETAIL Loddigesia mirabilis
all bird photos © James Hecht
text by Don Roberson
Among the 328 species of hummingbirds in the world (Schuchmann 1999), none
are more local, spectacular, and mysterious than the Marvelous Spatuletail
which exists only in a remote valley of northern Peru. It was discovered by
bird collector Andrew Matthews in 1835, working for George Loddiges. It was
the skin of this first male that became the basis from the drawing of this
unique hummingbird by H.C. Richter in John Gould's famous monograph, a
portion of which artwork is shown at right (from the reprint of Gould
(1990). It remained almost unknown into the 1960s when Augusto Ruschi
acquired a wild bird for his aviary in Brazil where Crawford Greenewalt
took the first photographs (Greenewalt 1960). The few ornithologists who
were able to locate it found it restricted to ~7000 ft elevation
(2100-2900m) on the eastern slopes of the Rio Utcubamba Valley in Amazonas,
and one site in San Martin, northern Peru (Birdlife International 2000,
Hecht 2001). Ted Parker's observations in the 1970s and 1980s found that
full-tailed males were outnumbered by females and immatures (which lack the
spatules) by a ratio of more than 5 to 1 (Hecht 2001).
The only recent locale where birding tours have been able to locate this
little-known species is near the town of Florida, along the shores of Lago
Pomacochas. Here it occurs in low densities, may be seasonally present
only, and appears to be declining (Birdlife International 2000). In 1997
James Hecht joined a Field Guides tour,led by Rose Ann Rowlett and Richard
Webster, which succeeded in locating a very few. Hecht determined to return
for photos and did so in 2000, along with Rob Dover of Vilaya Tours.
Already the habitat had been considerably cleared and many fewer of the
yellow-flowering trees the species appeared to prefer remained. With help
from local contacts, they were able to locate the feeding male shown here
in these spectacular photographs.
According to the information gathered by Birdlife International (2000), the
Marvelous Spatuletail [which the British spell as "Marvellous Spatuletail"]
occurs in forest edge, and particularly prefers thorny, impenetrable Rubus
thickets admixed with Alnus trees. Its preferred food plant is the
red-flowered lily Alstroemeria (Bomarea) formosissima but it has been
observed on five species of flowering plants, including the "mupa mupa"
trees shown here in Hecht's photos. At their feeding plants, the
spatuletail, which is a fairly small species, is dominated by more
aggressive sylphs, train-bearers, and violetears (Hecht 2001).
Males apparently use the incredible spatules to display at leks to females.
The breeding season runs from late October to early May (Birdlife
International 2000).
.
> The scarred male nude on the island's east coast is half-shaded, and, on
> the whole, less interesting, though considerably more aroused than is
> good for him or a certain type of tourist. The recently repapered wall
> immediately west of the now louder-murmuring (et pour cause) dorocene
> lamp is ornamented in the central girl's honor with Peruvian'
> honeysuckle' being visited (not only for its nectar, I'm afraid, but for
> the animalcules stuck in it) by marvelous Loddigesia Hummingbirds, while
> the bedtable on that side bears a lowly box of matches, a karavanchik of
> cigarettes, a Monaco ashtray, a copy of Voltemand's poor thriller, and a
> Lurid Oncidium Orchid in an amethystine vaselet.
-------------------------------
For all of you who have been wondering about those Loddigesian Hummingbirds
on the wallpaper of Van's bedroom in the famous menage a trois scene, see
www.montereybay.com/creagrus.spatuletail.html for several fabulous images.
The accompanying text is below. The "Lurid Oncidium orchid" (Oncidium
luridum) in the bedside vase is also found in Peru.
D. Barton Johnson
NABOKV-L
---------------------------------------------------
MARVELOUS SPATULETAIL Loddigesia mirabilis
all bird photos © James Hecht
text by Don Roberson
Among the 328 species of hummingbirds in the world (Schuchmann 1999), none
are more local, spectacular, and mysterious than the Marvelous Spatuletail
which exists only in a remote valley of northern Peru. It was discovered by
bird collector Andrew Matthews in 1835, working for George Loddiges. It was
the skin of this first male that became the basis from the drawing of this
unique hummingbird by H.C. Richter in John Gould's famous monograph, a
portion of which artwork is shown at right (from the reprint of Gould
(1990). It remained almost unknown into the 1960s when Augusto Ruschi
acquired a wild bird for his aviary in Brazil where Crawford Greenewalt
took the first photographs (Greenewalt 1960). The few ornithologists who
were able to locate it found it restricted to ~7000 ft elevation
(2100-2900m) on the eastern slopes of the Rio Utcubamba Valley in Amazonas,
and one site in San Martin, northern Peru (Birdlife International 2000,
Hecht 2001). Ted Parker's observations in the 1970s and 1980s found that
full-tailed males were outnumbered by females and immatures (which lack the
spatules) by a ratio of more than 5 to 1 (Hecht 2001).
The only recent locale where birding tours have been able to locate this
little-known species is near the town of Florida, along the shores of Lago
Pomacochas. Here it occurs in low densities, may be seasonally present
only, and appears to be declining (Birdlife International 2000). In 1997
James Hecht joined a Field Guides tour,led by Rose Ann Rowlett and Richard
Webster, which succeeded in locating a very few. Hecht determined to return
for photos and did so in 2000, along with Rob Dover of Vilaya Tours.
Already the habitat had been considerably cleared and many fewer of the
yellow-flowering trees the species appeared to prefer remained. With help
from local contacts, they were able to locate the feeding male shown here
in these spectacular photographs.
According to the information gathered by Birdlife International (2000), the
Marvelous Spatuletail [which the British spell as "Marvellous Spatuletail"]
occurs in forest edge, and particularly prefers thorny, impenetrable Rubus
thickets admixed with Alnus trees. Its preferred food plant is the
red-flowered lily Alstroemeria (Bomarea) formosissima but it has been
observed on five species of flowering plants, including the "mupa mupa"
trees shown here in Hecht's photos. At their feeding plants, the
spatuletail, which is a fairly small species, is dominated by more
aggressive sylphs, train-bearers, and violetears (Hecht 2001).
Males apparently use the incredible spatules to display at leks to females.
The breeding season runs from late October to early May (Birdlife
International 2000).
.