BASICS


BASICS: "Hummingbirds.....where is the person, I ask, who, on observing this glittering fragment of the rainbow, would not pause, admire, and turn his mind with reverence..." (J. J. Audubon).
This is a blog about my summer life at the Baiting Hollow Hummingbird Sanctuary, at my winter garden, Calypso, in the Bahamas, and aspects of life in general.
This private sanctuary is now permanently closed to the general public, as a result of a lawsuit brought by a neighbor. Only my friends and personal guests may visit (paul.adams%stonybrook.edu).

Friday, February 6, 2015

White Bird of Paradise

Here's a recent video showing a Bahama Woodstar hummingbird feeding at a blossom of the White Bird of Paradise, Strelitzia nicolai, in the garden at Calypso. The strelitzias are from South Africa, where sunbirds feed on the nectar. There are no hummingbirds outside the New World, and in the Old World other groups of birds exploit nectar, albeit rather more clumsily.
My white birds of paradise are old and some now exceed 8 feet. These plants are in the ginger family, and are not close relatives of bananas, which they resemble.


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