Re: New species found in Ecuador

Rob Hilton (robert@csa.com)
Wed, 01 Apr 1998 11:13:46 -0500


Do these birds come above ground to breed every 17 years?

Rob Hilton
robert@csa.com
Bethesda, MD.  

At 10:42 AM 4/1/98 -0800, you wrote:
>Birds That Really Dig Their Environment
>By Frank Knott ...New York Times April 1, 1998
>
>CORDILLERA DE HUACAMAYOS, Ecuador -- Dr. Avril Pioneer, working in the
>mountainous area of Cordillera de Huacamayos, Ecuador has discovered a
>colony of subterranean birds.
>
>The bird, newly named the flute-billed tunnel-hermit, apparently spends
>almost it's entire life underground living on insects and worms.
>
>"It only ventures above ground when it's time to breed," said Dr.
>Pioneer, speaking at a press conference in Quito. "The birds must gather
>grass and plant fiber to line their nests."
>
>Dr. Pioneer has been studying birds and their behavior in Ecuador for
>over ten years but only stumbled across the tunnel-hermit by accident
>three months ago.
>
>"As is often the case," Pioneer explained, "the most important
>discoveries are made serendipitously. I was trying to find the source of
>some unusual vocalization and I literally dropped in on a colony of the
>birds."
>
>The birds are supremely adapted to their life underground. Their beaks
>are the size of a toothbrush and shaped like a long spade.
>
>Dr. Pioneer has discovered that they excavate their labyrinth of tunnels
>by inserting their beaks into the earth and violently rotating their
>entire body in a corkscrew manner by thrusts of their powerful legs.
>Dislodged earth is propelled behind the bird at the same time where it
>is scooped up by what Dr. Pioneer refers to as 'helper' birds and thrown
>out of tunnel entrances.
>
>The extensive rains in the area quickly wash away this loose soil,
>leaving no evidence of the burrowing activity.
>
>Dr. Pioneer described how sometimes birds would get stuck and have to be
>pulled free by those behind.
>
>"The cooperative nature of the birds in the colony is astounding," Dr.
>Pioneer said, "It far exceeds any previously documented behavior in the
>bird world."
>
>The tunnel-hermit is flightless as might be expected.
>
>"They have very small, vestigial wings which we at first believed served
>only to anchor birds when moving through the tunnel system. It was only
>later that we were able to observe a male moving his wings along his
>beak at the same time a beautiful, flute-like vocalization was emitted."
>
>"This was the same wonderous sound that first drew me to the area,"
>explained Dr. Pioneer. "We have since had the opportunity to observe
>tiny holes, spaced at regular intervals down both sides of the beak. The
>melody is so dazzlingly beautiful and has such an incredible ephemeral
>quality that we have informally called the song the 'Melody of Fools'."
>-- 
>Good Birding!                  ...and all this science,
>Tyler Bell                     I don't understand, It's
>mailto:bell@say.acnatsci.org   just my job five days a week. 
>California, MD                 Elton John (Rocket Man)
>http://www.anserc.org/
>
>