CURRENT AFFAIRS

Detailed explanation-1: -Ecuador records a new species of hummingbirds: Blue-throated Star (Oreotrochilus cyanolaemus). It was discovered on the border between the provinces of El Oro and Loja.

Detailed explanation-2: -This discovery and the isolation of the Serrania led us to believe there could also be new species of vertebrates [associated with it].” According to its discoverers, the new hummingbird species measures between 8.9 cm (3.5 inches) and 10.2 cm (4 inches) in length.

Detailed explanation-3: -A hummingbird is a small bird with a long, slender bill. Many hummingbirds have brightly colored, glittery feathers. Often the males are more colorful than the females. The birds are named for the humming sound made by the rapid beating of their wings. There are about 320 kinds of hummingbirds.

Detailed explanation-4: -India does not have hummers but convergent evolution has given us our sunbirds. With hummingbirds on your mind the sunbirds look large and clumsy; their wing beats dull and lethargic, country yokels of speed aerobatics.

Detailed explanation-5: -The hummingbird family is very large, with over 330 species and 115 genera, mostly south of the U.S. Hummingbirds are found only in the Western Hemisphere, with almost half the species living in the “equatorial belt” between 10 degrees north and south of the equator.