Saturday, April 24, 2010
Urubu
When we were in Rio de Janeiro last summer on bidness - Gumusut model tests, I kept seeing these enormous black birds soaring at great altitude over the sea. I was totally mesmerized by these giants of the sky. They were abundant. I asked numerous people what they were called and the answer I got was gaviota, which, in Spanish anyway (similar to Portuguese), means sea gull. I said no way is that a gull, but I was told by several beach people that is what they are called, and only got a shrug of the shoulders, when I doubted that name.
I asked our driver, Leandro, what was that big bird called and I thought I finally had the answer - Urubu. We had quite a few laughs with me mispronouncing that name. In any case, there was another large black bird that was extremely common down there and was flying and soaring over and around the sea in the same areas that giant bird was flying and it was the black vulture. Finally, Leandro and I figured out that the Urubu that he has referring to was the vulture and not the bird of interest.
The way we discovered the bird to which he was referring, since he did not know the word vulture, was from an old cartoon, that he recalled and I remembered vaguely from my youth. He said there was a pirate with the urubu on it's shoulder. See story below.
Finally, when I got back home to Houston, I was stilled obsessed with this giant soaring black seabird. Looking through Judy's field guides, I found it. It was the Fregata magnificens Magnificent Frigate bird. Awesome creature.
7 ft wing span!
So last week at the FeatherFest in Galveston, while on the harbor boat cruise, the bird guide said that the Frigate birds were not here yet, but should be in another week or so. Wow, I did not know they came here. I would like to head back down to Galveston to view these magnificent birds when they return.
With all of the pelicans in Galveston, sometimes soaring much higher than I thought they flew, I was wondering if these were the Frigate bird. But, alas, they were just high flying pelicans. Interestingly enough the "Order" of the Frigate bird is "Pelicaniformes", so I guess it was not so bizarre of a thing to wonder.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Pelecaniformes
Family: Fregatidae
Genus: Fregata
Species: F. magnificens
...and if I could ever get this view of a male in mating mode, that would be pretty cool -
Story of the Sea Hag and the Urubu -
Sea Hag - Tall, masculine looking witch featured in comics/cartoons created by Elzie Crisler Segar since the 1930s.
The Sea Hag is the archenemy of Popeye the Sailor. Sailing the Seven Seas in her boat "The Black Barnacle," the Sea Hag plunders all in her sight.
When she set her eyes on Popeye the Sailor, she falls in love with him and does everything in her power to make him hers. Unfortunately, Popeye has a girlfriend (Olive Oyl) and besides, the stout and true Popeye would never be one to be fall for such an evil character as the Sea Hag.
Although, years later after constant pursuits and skirmishes with the Sea Hag and her minions, Popeye warms up to the mannish sea-maiden saying "I yam glad she ain't dead -- even if she is a exter bad woman -- hah! If they wasn't no bad women, maybe we wouldn't appreciate the good ones. Anyway, she yam what she yam!"
In her campaign to win Popeye's affections the lovelorn Sea Hag uses Voo Doo; kidnaps Eugene The Jeep; tries to burn Popeye's food supply of Spinach (the fumes energized him, however); transform herself into a duplicate of Olive Oyl - with no success; masqueraded as "Rose of the Sea", a beautiful young seductress; and even helped Popeye's nemesis Brutus take a youth portion to become young, fit and a suitor for Olive Oyl's affections.
Santa Captured by The Sea HagThe Sea Hag's "If I can't have him, no one can" attitude has driven her, on occasion, to even try to kill Popeye, as well. But romantic intentions and unrequited love aside, the Sea Hag (who just wanted to get a man to call her own), was truly a mean person. Case in point: the time she and her vulture sidekick, Bernard planned to ruin Christmas by capturing Santa Claus and burning his sack of toys. Luckily, Popeye thwarted her evil scheme.
Later in their relationship, after chasing Poyeye unsuccessfully for so many years, the Sea Hag even tried to secure the affections of Popeye's hamburger-munching pal Wimpy - again with no success. The Sea Hag's one weakness/vulnerability (besides her affection for Popeye) was the mystical powers of Eugene the Jeep, a strange creature with a bulbous nose who befriended Popeye the Sailor.
Comic Strip Illustration of the Sea HagTRIVIA NOTE: The Sea Hag character debuted on "Thimble Theater" comic strip in 1929. In 2004, actress Kathy Bates performed the voice of the Sea Hag/Siren in the first-ever Popeye the Sailor Man 3-D CGI animated production Popeye's Voyage: The Quest for Pappy. The storyline follows Popeye's journey to find his long lost father, Poopdeck Pappy, in time for the holidays. As he sails the treacherous Seas of Mystery, he encounters the villainous Sea Hag who is smitten by the hulking seaman and vows to stop at nothing until she steals him away. To imagine what the Sea Hag would look like for real, just take actor Richard Moll, put him in a body length robe, and wrap a scarf around his head.
I asked our driver, Leandro, what was that big bird called and I thought I finally had the answer - Urubu. We had quite a few laughs with me mispronouncing that name. In any case, there was another large black bird that was extremely common down there and was flying and soaring over and around the sea in the same areas that giant bird was flying and it was the black vulture. Finally, Leandro and I figured out that the Urubu that he has referring to was the vulture and not the bird of interest.
The way we discovered the bird to which he was referring, since he did not know the word vulture, was from an old cartoon, that he recalled and I remembered vaguely from my youth. He said there was a pirate with the urubu on it's shoulder. See story below.
Finally, when I got back home to Houston, I was stilled obsessed with this giant soaring black seabird. Looking through Judy's field guides, I found it. It was the Fregata magnificens Magnificent Frigate bird. Awesome creature.
7 ft wing span!
So last week at the FeatherFest in Galveston, while on the harbor boat cruise, the bird guide said that the Frigate birds were not here yet, but should be in another week or so. Wow, I did not know they came here. I would like to head back down to Galveston to view these magnificent birds when they return.
With all of the pelicans in Galveston, sometimes soaring much higher than I thought they flew, I was wondering if these were the Frigate bird. But, alas, they were just high flying pelicans. Interestingly enough the "Order" of the Frigate bird is "Pelicaniformes", so I guess it was not so bizarre of a thing to wonder.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Pelecaniformes
Family: Fregatidae
Genus: Fregata
Species: F. magnificens
...and if I could ever get this view of a male in mating mode, that would be pretty cool -
Story of the Sea Hag and the Urubu -
Sea Hag - Tall, masculine looking witch featured in comics/cartoons created by Elzie Crisler Segar since the 1930s.
When she set her eyes on Popeye the Sailor, she falls in love with him and does everything in her power to make him hers. Unfortunately, Popeye has a girlfriend (Olive Oyl) and besides, the stout and true Popeye would never be one to be fall for such an evil character as the Sea Hag.
Although, years later after constant pursuits and skirmishes with the Sea Hag and her minions, Popeye warms up to the mannish sea-maiden saying "I yam glad she ain't dead -- even if she is a exter bad woman -- hah! If they wasn't no bad women, maybe we wouldn't appreciate the good ones. Anyway, she yam what she yam!"
In her campaign to win Popeye's affections the lovelorn Sea Hag uses Voo Doo; kidnaps Eugene The Jeep; tries to burn Popeye's food supply of Spinach (the fumes energized him, however); transform herself into a duplicate of Olive Oyl - with no success; masqueraded as "Rose of the Sea", a beautiful young seductress; and even helped Popeye's nemesis Brutus take a youth portion to become young, fit and a suitor for Olive Oyl's affections.
Santa Captured by The Sea Hag
Later in their relationship, after chasing Poyeye unsuccessfully for so many years, the Sea Hag even tried to secure the affections of Popeye's hamburger-munching pal Wimpy - again with no success. The Sea Hag's one weakness/vulnerability (besides her affection for Popeye) was the mystical powers of Eugene the Jeep, a strange creature with a bulbous nose who befriended Popeye the Sailor.
Comic Strip Illustration of the Sea Hag
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