Diario las Américas Newspaper, October 28, 1956, Page 23

2 nana at Lacan ahs idan enti Gu 6g DNA VASA Many Colorful Birds Make Their Home in Venezuela Bird lovers and ornithologists find an almost unlimited field for the study and observation of the winged fauna throughout the en- tire territory of Venezuela. In- numerable species of birds inhabit the vast forests and jungles, as well as the wide Ilanos (plains), the. wooded mountain slopes, and the extensive seashores of the Ca- ribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Perhaps the most beautiful of all Venezuelan birds is the so-call- ed Siete Colores (Seven Colors — Tangara chilensis) the gorgeous plumage of this five-inch long fruit éater is a resplendent array of feathers in. the seven colors of the rainbow. Cocks are endowed in addition, with a tuft of golden down which, however, loses its tint and brilliance as soon as the bird dies. Siete Colores live only in the virgin forests south of the Orinoco river, where they are hunted . by the Indians to adorn themselves with the alluring feathers. Venezuelas mational bird is the Tucan (Toucan), -a medium-sized bird about 14 inches long, belong- ing to the Ramphastidae family. Although very different in ap- pearance, they are allied to the woodpeckers, jacamars, and puff- birds. Their most remarkable char- acteristic is an enormous, serrated bill, somewhat like the claw of a lobster, often as long as the birds body and usually found in a varie- ty of gaudy colors. Despite its solid appearance, the bill is hollow and quite light. The plumage is largely green with almost indescribable combinations of the brightest hues. Toucans inhabit the taller trees of dense forests, often traveling in bands, and feed mainly upon fruits, although they don not refuse large insects and their larvae, amphi- bians, lizards, or even small birds. They lay their white eggs in holes in trees; the bill protruding from the opening is capable of inflict- ing vicious wounds to would-be marauders. Thus the sitting bird can well defend and nearly block its nest entrance; and no doubt the writer was correct who said that. when monkeys come along and meet with the ready bill “she gives them such a welcome there- with that they presently pack away and glad they escape so — their departure being presumably hast- ened by other Toucans, for they are sociable and much given to mobbing. They sleep in a most curious position, resting the bill on their back and folding the- tail forward like an umbrella. Ma- ny Indians wear the bills as orna- ments, although the colors fade rapidly. Among the many species of herons inhabiting the marshy areas which are the specialized orna- mental plumes worn by the birds during the breeding season. They feed on fish, frogs, crustaceans, and other aquatic animals, which they capture by seizing or spear- ing with their bill. Herons nest in trees, often in large communities known as garzales (heronries), the nests being rough structures of sticks and coarse twigs. The Ibis family is represented especially by the Corecore or Si- dra (Eudocimus rubra), and the splendid Scarlet Ibis (Guara ru- bra), a bird not common in most 2 The “Paraulata” (Mimus Gilvus), related to the mockingbird of the U. S., has a melodious voice hard to match. e and river banks of the Venezuelan plains, perhaps the prettiest is the Garcita Blanca (Little’: White He- ron — Leucophoyx thula) of the family Ardeidae. They possess & long, slender neck, a long, point- ed bill with sharp cutting edges, long legs, and rather lax plumage. They are the source of aigrettes, KE HAAAAAAAADALAAIA AAAS AINSI IAA AA AAAS SASS A SI SAI SI ASSIS them for sale by the company’s Bogota office. As national proper- ty, Muzo stones are stored in Bank vaults or sent to government contracted lapidaries for cutting and eventual sale. Alarmed by the illicit traffic’s drain on the national treasury, the Ministry of Mines is drafting a new emerald code to regulate ex- ploration, exploitation, an commer- ce. Dr. Dominguez says the pro- posed code, which would not af- fect private mines, is expected to reduce contraband activities 95 per cent. ; But the orderly production and marketing of emeralds clashes with the more cavalier: practices that have become traditional over the centuries, More important, law en- forcement is up against human nature itself. As one official puts it: “A man can smuggle away a fortune in emeralds between his toes, Faced with such a tempta- tion—and given the opportunity— they all get Green Fever”. Under watchful eye of supervisors, workers pry away banks in search for emeralds on a Chivor terrace. SUNDAY, OCTOBER 28, 1956 places elsewhere discovered in Ve- nezuela by an expedition conduct- ed in 1949 by the National Geo- graphic Society of Washington, D. C., in collaboration with Venezue- lan ornithologists. It is scarlet nearly all over, bill and feet in- cluded, the only bits of other co- lor visible -being the dark eyes and the black tips of the first three wingquills. The scarlet color of this Ibis is well known to be unstable; though it lives well in captivity, it chamges after a moult in that condition-to a mere shrimp- pink shade. If kept under natural conditions in which they can ob- tain such food as small crabs and shrimps, the red color is retained. Ibises are characterized by having a long downwardly curved bill. Fully grown birds reach a size of about 16 inches. \ Wild ducks are also plentiful in Venezuela, the most common be- ing the Giiiriri (Dendrocygna au- tumnalis), an 18-inch Jong bird easily distinguishable by its red bill, pink legs, black belly, and white spots on the wings, as well as by its peculiar cry from which thhe Indian took its name. But the king of wildfowl is the Muscovy Duck, a splendid green-black bird with snow - white wing coverts, and the bare face mostly black in- stead of all red, as in most tame duck specimens. This duck was first tamed by the civilized In- dians. It is a very high-couraged hird, and the wild drakes fight so furiously in the breeding season that the water is littered with feathers. Like most tropical wild fowl, this duck is a percher and breeds in trees. Venezuela, located in the Neo- tropical region, is one of the strongholds of Parrots (Loros). The species of the well-known green “Amazon group, for in- stance, run into dozens, and there are many more of the Macaws than in generally supposed. Most people are familiar in the case of captives with the great red-and- blue, red-and-yellow, and blue-and yello Macaws (Guacamayos), but there are a number of green spe- cies as well, gemerally of much smaller size, not larger than big The “Scarlet Ibis”, (Eudocimus Rubra) is all red, bill and feet included, and feeds on shrimps and crabs. parakeets (pericos). The three large guacamayos are very con- spicuous, as they fly high, usually in pairs, screaming as they go. The parrots and parakeets are nearly all purely treebirds, and are very tameable and intelligent, as anyone can see with those kept in zoological gardens. It seems that the higher Parrots have as much intelligence as any of the mammalian class. The Lore Real (Royal Parrot — Amazona ochro- cephala) has been a favorite pet bird in many homes since the dis- covery, when Columbus took some back to Spain on his first trip. They easily learn to speak, being cute and lovable fellows because of their droll habits and _ their ability to mimic human sounds. Parrots have a “yoke-toed” foot with two of the four toes directed forward and two backward; using their feet and powerful hooked bill, they climb agilely or even hang suspended by the bill. In the wild they are very sociable, and they make their presence known by loud screeching cries as they fly through the trees. A very widely spread and num- erous family.of birds in Vene- zuela are the celebrated Tucusi- tos (Hummingbirds— Trochilidae) Two of them are really remark- able: the Rabo de Machete (Long tailed Hummingbird — Aglaiocercu kingi), for its long forked tail, red bill, and glittering emerald gorget of the male; and the dear’ little green-and-blue Tucuse (Colibri co- ruscans), for its minute sixe of no more than 2 1-2 inches overall length including bill and tail. It is usually considered the smallest bird known, the body no larger than a bumblebee, and perhaps, the most fairy - like creature on earth. Hummingbirds have a thin, elongated bill and a protrusible tongue for probing the nectaries of flowers. They usually feed while suspended in the air, being able to rise or fall like a helicopter. To see the birds swing back and forth like a pendulum, beating the wings so rapidly so to be seen on- ly as a blur, is an absolute revela- tion. Their nests, made of moss and cobwed, are among the most beautiful examples of bird archi- tecture. Only two white eggs are laid, and the young obtain susten- ance by thrusting the bill down the parent’s throat. They are ex- traordinarily pugnacious, especi- ally during the breeding season, and will fearlessly attack intrud- ers a hundred times their own size. Woodpeckers are common in Venezuela, as was to be expected in such a well-forested region. We shall mention here only the Car- pintero Real (Phloeoceastes me- lanoleucus), which has a dark brown plumage with red head and crest. Special characteristics of the woodpeckers are their sharp claws which enable them to pro- gress up and down a tree trunk; the stiffened tail feathers which serve as a prop against the tree; a straight, hard bill and powerful neck for hammering, and a re- markably long, sticky tongue with which they ensnare insects hidden in crevices of the bark. Their voi- ces are harsh and shrill. Since they feed almost entirely on insects and their eggs and pupae, woodpeck- ers are of incalculable importance in the preservation of forests. A beautifully colored, well- known singing bird is the Tur- pial. (Troupial Icterus ee terus), whose name is derived from its habit of going in flocks. They have a brilliant orange-and-black plumage, and are excellent song- sters, famous for their melodious, flutelike notes. Turpiales are closely related to the North Ame- rican grackles and blackbirds, and very distantly to the true orioles, They build finely ‘woven pend- ent nests, hung from the crotch of a branch. A variety of the Turpia- les, known as. Arrendajos (Cacicus cela) are so tame that they can be taught to eat from the hand, and may be kept loose around the house. It is said that in order to protect themselves they live in communities established near the nests of large wasps. _The Paraulata Llanera (Mimus gilvus), a gray-colored bird relat- ed to the North American mock- ingbird, is considered the prima- donna of the world’s singing birds. Famous for its incredibly melod- lous notes, it also imitates the Songs of other birds an in impro- visation of mimiery it is the most versatile of birds. The long list of Venezuelan birds also includes halcones (fal- cons), gallinetas (sandpipers), al- caravanes (bittern), tortolitas (a small kind of turtledoves), gua characas (a chattering bird of the family Ortalis ruficauda), lechuzas (owls), martines peseadores (king- fishers), golondrinas (swallows), hormigueros (wrynecks), azulejos (bluebirds), and many others. Special mention must be made of the Zamuro (black vulture — Coragyps atratus), which feeds on carrion. The large birds can usu- ally be seen sailing at high alti- tudes while they look out for their prey with an extraordinarily acute vision. They constitute some sort of sanitary police for small vil- lages and hamlets, as they dispose of dead animals and garbage. They are ruled by the Rey de los Za- muros (King Vulture — Sarcor- hampus_ papa), which is black when young, but cream - colored with black quills and tail when adult, and, though not a big bird for a vulture, considerably larger than its subjects. Its bare head is beautifully colored with orange and red, and bears a yellow wag- gling lump on the bill, And, finally, there are the noe turnal Gudcharos or “oilbirds” (Steatornis caripensis), after whe the famous Gudcharo Cave in the Caripe Valley (Monagas States)is named. During daytime, the birds take refuge in the huge caverns, whose end has never been found, while at night they roam about feeding on fruits. They are about 18 inches Jong and have a wide, strongly hooked bill, overhung by long bristles that grow from ite base. The plumage is mainly red- dish brown, barred with black on the wings and tail, and conspicu- ously spotted with white on the head, shoulders, and under parts, Little is known of the gudchare’s life history. An oil, used like but- ter, ws extracted from the young birds by the Indians; for this rea- son the species has been given the English name “oilbird.” Native to- bacco planters use their guano for fertilizer, obtaining the world-fam- ous tobacco quality from which Venezuela’s renowed gudcharo cigars are made. Reprinted by courtesy of VENEZUELA UP TO DATE Rane 13