2008/11/30

A good luck bird


Hello my friends. As you know, I'm trying to finish my thesis already, to be able to finally dedicate to this blog again.

A couple of months ago I started to notice a funny thing. Everytime I left home for work (7am), and I saw a Vermilion Flycatcher on my street I had "good luck" all day. Of course it could also be that beautiful birds make me smile always and maybe I just didn't notice the bad things happening around.

Anyway, I decided to proclaim this bird my "good luck bird", my "huayruro" on wings!

If you never heard of it before, I bet you are curious now. Well, keep reading and you'll find out!

The "Huayruro" (Ormosia) is a tree from the “fabaceae” family and it is at least 40 meters high. Its seeds are also named “huayruros”. They are shiny red (female), or red with a black spot (male). VERY beautiful. The seeds can be found in different sizes, personally, I preffer the tiny ones.

The Huayruro has many species, mainly found in the Amazon, extending to Central America and southern Mexico. Its name differs from country to country. The seed of huayruro is also called: bean of the luck, tintoria (Brazil), cairuro (Colombia), huayro, huayruro, (Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador), etc.

The seed is a symbol of the origin from which all living beings are derived: plants, animals and humans. It is a symbol of fertility and abundance. It is also a symbol of good luck. In Peru it is used as an amulet to attract good luck and to protect against negative energies.

In several regions of the Peruvian Andes, the huayruro is used in religious ceremonies and in the Amazon region the native people use this seed to make necklaces, bracelets, earrings and different handcrafted. This has extended to other regions and now you can find quite expensive jewelry made with these seeds.

2008/11/21

Let's play "find the bird"

I've been away from blogging for a while.

I wish I came back with lots of great pictures and stories to share with you... Instead I bring you a "game"... I call it "find the bird"... (Click on pics to enlarge)


I know, I have to get a better camera and enter the exciting world of digiscoping. Not a chance for me to do so anytime soon, so, please, play along...


Find the heron, the killdeer, the hummingbird...


Try seeking for the Saffron Finch or the Tropical Kingbird...


Pretend you do like the game (at least until I get a REAL camera and stop taking such bad pics)