Top Trumps

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Colombia tropical rain forest, disappearing quickly. Since the 2016 Treaty of peace between the government and the Farc guerrillas, much of The Virgin jungle that used to be taboo, because of a conflict has now been chopped down, destroying entire ecosystems. But now, efforts are underway to save what's left of it.

at the beginning of this year, and shortly before the coronavirus lockdown, I joined an expedition to the top botanist from The Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in London, in a previously unexplored rain forest in the Serrania de las Quinchas, as they searched for rare plant Species , some of them are unknown to science.

Colombia is The Second most Species -rich countries in the World After Brazil. It also has more Species of birds - 1,958 in the recent census than any other country.

If it is a game of Top Trumps for hummingbirds wins Colombia hands down. With its mountains, jungle and rain forest, the great South American country has some of The World 's most colorful flora and fauna. Here is a small sample of what we Saw is.

Hiking into the remote Ranura Canyon in the Magdalena valley, with the Kew Gardens scientists In Search of rare plants

the travel on horseback was the only way for me, a wheelchair-based, to over rough terrain. Conservationists hope that this could be largely safe and unexplored part of Colombia, better access, a popular destination for eco-tourism.

The apartment of a hermit, deep in the Serranía de las Quinchas

hidden in the woods here We spent The Night on hammocks and mattresses. The Farmer who lives here is alone, completely self-sufficient, rearing its own cattle and pigs, but also a kind of root vegetable for food, The Scientists say, that they had never seen before.

The week before we arrived, his son was bitten on the foot by a poisonous fer-de-lance Pit Viper in the nearby forest. The Farmer had him on his back on the nearest road and you have to save him in a hospital, his leg, without amputation had to be.

Common Tody-flycatcher, Todirostrum cinereum

A tiny and amazingly tame bird that lives up to its name. The beak was filled with insects, which are caught in it. It is a familiar sight in The Trees around the palm trees-was the straw were sleeping-cabin in which we And One of The First birds that Wake us with the Dawn Chorus . (Note: nothing remarkable about this Species , it was just pretty pretty. )

Rufous-tailed hummingbird Amazilia tazacatl, feeding on a Mexican Sunflower , also known as a "tree " marigold"

One of The Most aggressive and territorial of Colombia 165 Hummingbird Species , it is known to attack other birds and insects that see them as intruders. In The Night it goes into a rest-to rest, to replenish his high Energy .

Blue-throated star frontlet, Coeligena helianthea. A height of the Andean Hummingbird found only above 2,000 m in Colombia and just over The Border in Venezuela, as well-known as a "in the vicinity of the end

This mix" is one of the 18 different hummingbirds to find, high in The Hills above Bogota at the Observatorio de Colibríes, where visitors can see flitting through the branches, if you eat a Breakfast of mango, papaya, and strong Colombian Coffee .

executioner, wasp, Polistes carnifex

This terrible insect is one of The Most painful bites known to mankind, even worse than the bullet ant and the Asian giant Hornet. One of the largest Neotropical wasps at 3cm in length, its name means literally "meat-maker", as he chews his prey before release it Back To The Nest .

be crisp, The TV naturalist Coyote Peterson voluntarily, and said afterwards that a hole rotted in his arm at The Site of The Sting . I photographed this just as it flew from a branch of a tree.

Cinnamon Flycatcher , Pyrrhomyias cinnamomeus

One of The Most attractive and accessible to the birds of Colombia's high mountain forest to over 3,000 m in height. Found all The Way on the Western spine of South America , its Latin name means "flame-colored". This one was perched in the vicinity of a waterfall, brief forays into the spray of the water to catch insects, which he according to the.

A strange and unknown fruits of the family Sapotaceae, an important food-sources in the form of tropical fruits such as star apple

This Was a new, unknown Species , the gardens of Kew, botanist, deep in the remote jungle of Las Quinchas. The Expedition leader Mauricio Diazgranados, said: "The Shape and texture of the fruit were very unusual".

Palo cruz, Brownea macrophylla

The Kew Gardens scientists were excited about this exotic flower grows on the banks of a river in the Central Magdalena valley. The Trees that grow, produce up to 12m high and their trunks are often covered with ants. The locals say that the flower has medicinal properties And One of the great hopes for the sparing what remains of Colombia's Tropical Forests is that your plants may contain life-saving medical cure.

colombia, kew gardens, wildlife conservation, birds

Source of news: bbc.com