Mistletoe PollinatorsIn order to watch these video clips, you will need to have the QuickTime plug-in. If you do not already have QuickTime installed, you can download it free at the QuickTime Web site. Open This End: With effort, a solitary bee endemic to New Zealand jimmies
open an “explosive” mistletoe bud. (790 KB) And Make It Snappy: A master of the twist-top technique, a nectar-eating bird called the tui deals with a closed flower in seconds. (969 KB) Matsés: Sounds From the FieldIn order to hear these audio clips, you will need to have RealPlayer. If you do not already have RealPlayer installed, you can download it free at the RealNetworks Web site. Matsés Indians, who live in the tropical rainforest of Peru, west of the Ucayali River, are helping to gather information for a survey of local mammals. The survey is the work of American Museum of Natural History mammalogists Robert S. Voss and Nancy B. Simmons, along with David Fleck of Rice University (see Natural History, 9/00). Fleck recorded interviews with a number of Matsés hunters. He hopes the recordings will not only add to knowledge about the region’s fauna but will help in the preservation of the Matsés language. Cesar, an old man who lives on the Choba River, talks about titi monkeys (Callicebus cupreus), small primates that commonly live along the forest edge and amid the secondary vegetation around Matsés villages. Known to the Matsés as üade pju, titis are remarkable for their prolonged duets at dawn and dusk, an imitation of which is effectively rendered by Cesar. Joaquin, a middle-aged man, talks about pink river dolphins (Inia geoffrensis). The dolphins, known to Matsés Indians as chishcan piu, are believed by some to have supernatural powers or to be demons. This recording was made at night; listen for the katydids and the nightjar in the background. Audio provided by Robert S. Voss, AMNH Dept. of Mammalogy. |
