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allthebrazilianpolitics · 1 year

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‘Jacu’ coffee: Brazilian bird droppings secret ingredient in brew worth its weight in gold

Initially viewed as a plague, the arrival of the dusky-legged guan revolutionized a coffee plantation in Brazil. A kilo costs $1,700 at the Harrods department store in London

A coffee made from bird droppings that sells for the price of gold in Europe: this is the curious treasure that a Brazilian farm has been guarding for years, thanks to the surprise appearance of a bird similar to a pheasant. No one could have foreseen it, but the jacuaçu, or dusky-legged guan, with its discreet black plumage and powerful cries, possesses a digestive system that is a marvel. The coffee beans it leaves in its feces are like nuggets of gold. Nobody was more surprised about the chance discovery than Henrique Sloper, the owner of family-run coffee plantation who first defined the appearance of the birds as a “plague.” Little did he know that soon the animals would become his staunchest allies and a valued partner in the business.

“It was very scary. It’s a big bird, it makes a lot of noise, it breaks branches. There were a lot of them, so we called the environmental protection bodies, but they didn’t know what to do. They suggested we put in a predator. What were we going to put in? A jaguar? An eagle? In the end they just left me there with the birds,” Sloper recalls now with a chuckle during a telephone conversation with EL PAÍS. His land is scattered around a dozen valleys in the verdant mountains of Espírito Santo, in southeastern Brazil, next to a national park. If the state of Espírito Santo were a country, it would be the fourth-largest coffee producer in the world.

But among the thousands of coffee plantations in Brazil, this one stands out: it is the only one that has a bird as an ace up its sleeve. After the initial fright of the feathered invasion, Sloper recalls a trip to Indonesia, where he learned about the exclusive Kopi luwak coffee, which is made using the excrement of the palm civet, a small, nocturnal mammal. He decided to try his luck to copy the invention. At first, convincing the farm workers that they had to harvest jacuaçu droppings proved a challenge, but once they had overcome their qualms and following two years of trial and error, they came up with the formula.

#brazil #brazilian politics #politics #farming #mod nise da silveira #image description in alt

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petnews2day · 3 months

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Large birds can boost forest carbon storage — if deforestation doesn't interfere

New Post has been published on https://petn.ws/LZfKB

Large birds can boost forest carbon storage — if deforestation doesn't interfere

A new study shows large fruit-eating birds in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest can contribute to a 38% increase in carbon storage by regenerating tropical forest. Species such as the toco toucan, dusky-legged guan and curl-crested jay help transport fruit seeds to degraded areas. The larger the bird, the larger the seed and, consequently, the greater the […]

See full article at https://petn.ws/LZfKB #BirdNews

#Bird News

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jay-arabica · 1 year

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‘Jacu’ coffee: Brazilian bird droppings secret ingredient in brew worth its weight in gold

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a-dinosaur-a-day · 6 years

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Penelope

Andean Guan by Nomdeploom, CC BY-SA 4.0

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Name: Penelope

Status: Extant

First Described: 1786

Described By: Merrem

Classification: Dinosauria, Saurischia, Eusaurischia, Theropoda, Neotheropoda, Averostra, Tetanurae, Orionides, Avetheropoda, Coelurosauria, Tyrannoraptora, Maniraptoriformes, Maniraptora, Pennaraptora, Paraves, Eumaniraptora, Averaptora, Avialae, Euavialae, Avebrevicauda, Pygostylia, Ornithothoraces, Euornithes, Ornithuromorpha, Ornithurae, Neornithes, Neognathae, Galloanserae, Pangalliformes, Galliformes, Cracidae, Penelopinae

Referred Species: P. albipennis (White-Winged Guan), P. argyrotis (Band-Tailed Guan), P. barbata (Bearded Guan), P. dabbenei (Red-Faced Guan), P. jacquacu (Spix’s Guan), P. jacucaca (White-Browed Guan), P. marail (Marail Guan), P. montagnii (Andean Guan), P. obscura (Dusky-Legged Guan), P. ochrogaster (Chester-bellied Guan), P. ortoni (Baudo Gaun), P. perspicax (Cauca Guan), P. pileata (White-Crested Guan), P. purpurascens (Crested Guan), P. superciliaris (Rusty-Margined Guan)

Spix’s Guan by JoJan, CC BY-SA 3.0

Penelope is the primary genus of Guans, leading to the name for the entire Guan sub-family. These birds have loud, honking calls, and live in tropical forests in Latin America. Many of these animals live in high altitudes and are shy; in addition, many others are critically endangered and rare to spot even in the best of times. They probably originated in the Andes mountains, and then dispersed from there; though it is difficult to figure out exactly when they first diverged from other Guans.

Band-Tailed Guan by the Carnegie Museum, in the Public Domain

The Band-Tailed Guan, P. argyrotis, is a currently nonthreatened species from Colombia and Venezuela, though it natural tropical mountain habitat is being degraded and could lead to general decrease in its population. The White-Winged Guan (P. albipennis), on the other hand, is one of those rarely observed and thus rarely photographed species - it is currently considered critically endangered. It’s last known range is in northwestern Peru, and it grew to about 70 centimeters in length, generally resembling turkeys on a superficial level. Due to severe loss of suitable habitat, as well as extensive hunting, it is extremely rare; but there are repopulation efforts ongoing. They have dark brown feathers, white wing feathers, and pale flecking on the neck, as well as a bare red throat.

Bearded Guan by Francesco Veronesi, CC BY-SA 2.0

The Bearded Guan, P. barbata, is a vulnerable species from Ecuador and Peru, mainly in wet mountain forest. Due to deforestation for agriculture and mining, it is threatened by habitat loss. It is uncertain what it eats, though it is known to be monogamous and territorial in its breeding range. They reach sexual maturity at two years, and reproduce until they are twenty years old. They are brown birds, with white speckled neck feathers, and a silver crown of feathers on it its head. The Red-Faced Guan, P. dabbenei, is a nonthreatened species known from the borders of northern Argentina and the southern border of Bolivia, living mainly in moist mountain forest.

Spix’s Guan by Patty Ho, CC BY 2.0

Spix’s Guan, P. jacquacu, is a nonthreatened species found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Venezuela. Living in tropical moist lowland forest, it isn’t as threatened by habitat loss as other members of this genus yet. It has speckled feathers and a bright red wattle that makes this species fairly distinct.

White-Browed Guan by Huub Veldhuijzen van Zanten, CC BY-SA 3.0

The White-Borowed Guan, P. jacucaca, is a vulnerable species from Brazil, and a very limited region of Brazil, which means that the species is extensively threatened by habitat loss as well as hunting. These birds are distinctive due to their white tufts of feathers on their heads.

Marail Guan by Hector Bottai, CC BY-SA 4.0

THe Marail Guan, P. marail, also has a red wattle, but is mainly known from Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela, and so it rarely overlaps in range with Spix’s Guan. It is not threatened with extinction, and lives mainly in lowland tropical wet forest.

Andean Guan by Joseph C. Boone, CC BY-SA 4.0

P. montagnii, the Andean Guan, is a nonthreatened species mainly associated with the Andes Mountains, especially in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and even Argentina. They’re medium sized, growing about 58 centimeters in length, and look similar to other Guans in having round bodies and skinny necks and heads. They have blue facial skin and mainly brown feathers on their bodies. They live in the cloud forest and they follow the migration of army ants for food. They build their nests in trees, laying only one egg per season. They are vulnerable to habitat destruction, but doesn’t appear to be threatened, though it might be affected by habitat fragmentation going forward.

Dusky-Legged Guan by Andreas Trepte, CC BY-SA 4.0

The Dusky-Legged Guan, P. obscura, is a nonthreatened species from Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil. It lives mainly in mountain forest as well as lowland forest, and is quite large, growing up to 73 centimeters in length. It also has a red wattle, though not as flappy, and speckled black feathers. It eats fruit, flowers, and buds from the ground, as well as seeds.

Chestnut-Bellied Guan by Andreas Trepte, CC BY-SA 4.0

P. orchrogaster, the Chestnut-Bellied Guan, is vulnerable species with distinctively brown feathers as well as a bright red wattle, in addition to white speckles all over its body. It also has bright red feathers on its chest to lead to its name. It is threatened with habitat loss, due to dry forest destruction in Brazil for farmland, which is th eonly habitat in which it lives.

Baudo Guan by Frank Finn, in the Public Domain

The Baudo Guan, P. ortoni, is an endangered species that has lost much of its natural range due to habitat destruction, as well as hunting. It is known from Colombia and Ecuador on the slopes of the Andes mountains, there might be less than 10000 mature individuals left today. It is mostly dark brown in color with some white patches on its neck. It lives on fruits in humid forest habitat, and makes loud, guttural calls, as well as warning whistles. It is, luckily, a species protected by law, with many programs in place for species conservation. The Cauca Guan, P. perspicax, is another very endangered species, living on the western slopes of the Andes of Colombia. They grow up to 76 centimeters in length, and live primarily in trees. It also has a red dewlap, and brown grey feathers. It is both threatened due to hunting and habitat loss.

White-Crested Guan by Dalton Scavassa, CC BY-SA 3.0

The White-Crested Guan, P. pileata, is another endangered species from the Amazon River in Brazil. It lives primarily in moist lowland forest and is threatened by extensive habitat destruction. It grows to about 80 centimeters in length and has a large crest of white feathers that gives it a very distinctive appearance. It makes a cackling call that is also distinctive in its habitat.

Crested Guan by Autosafari, CC BY-SA 3.0

The Crested Guan, P. purpurascens, is a large Guan from the lowland forests going all the way from Mexico to Ecuador and Venezuela. They have red dewlaps, brown plumage, and white speckles across their bodies. They make very keeling songs at dawn, as well as whistling calls. They grow very large, up to 91.5 centimeters in length. Luckily, the Crested Guan is not threatened with extinction, due to its very wide range and common presence within that range. It is a very social bird, living in family groups of up to 12 individuals, and walks along the branches looking for fruit in its forested habitat.

Rusty-Margined Guan by Eurico Zimbres, CC BY-SA 2.5

Our last species of Guan is P. superciliaris, the Rusty-Margined Guan. Brownish in color, with red eyes and a red dewlap, it is found in dry forests of Brazil, as well as Paraguay, Argentina, and Bolivia. It isn’t threatened with extinction, as it inhabits both shrubland habitat and tropical lowland forest. They even wander into Rio de Janeiro!

Buy the author a coffee: http://ko-fi.com/kulindadromeus

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penelope_(genus)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-winged_guan

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Band-tailed_guan

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bearded_guan

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-faced_guan

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spix%27s_guan

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-browed_guan

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marail_guan

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andean_guan

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dusky-legged_guan

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chestnut-bellied_guan

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baudo_guan

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cauca_guan

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-crested_guan

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crested_guan

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rusty-margined_guan

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thalassarche · 6 years

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Dusky-legged Guan (Penelope obscura) - photo by Daniel Esser

#birds #galliformes #cracidae #guans #dusky legged guan

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pyode-luar-ke · 2 years

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storm season | yautja fanfic

A/N: not me making a predator side blog 🙈 anyways, here’s a short story with a couple yautja ocs i have.

summary: she finds it harder to deal. then everything changes.

word count: 1,713

content: angst, infertility, child loss (stillbirth, miscarriage, SIDS), grief, implied smut, mating season, heats/ruts, mentioned pregnancy, implied childbirth, unrequited love (😳?), happy ending

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It’s become more and more difficult to ignore the pain. She used to be able to get over it, to continue as she is meant to. Yautja do not spend their lives wallowing over loss. They cannot be rendered stagnant because of death. They are not a species that grieves.

But the ache lingers after each unfruitful pregnancy. With every stillborn she is forced to burn upon a funerary pyre, the more the ache grows. She can no longer ignore the ashes of her lost pups. It haunts her like bhu’ja on Chiva n’ithya.

Paya will sometimes grant her a breathing pup— Nan’ku. She will treasure it. She will pour everything she has into it. She will be happy.

And in a devastating blow, Paya will be cruel and invite The Black Hunter to take her pup away.

Three times she has awoken to a lifeless pup in a nest. Three times The Black Hunter has invaded her home and stripped her of her blood. She is left cold each time. She burns more fires. She digs more graves. The pain festers.

Sometimes, when she is swallowed within herself, she wonders what she’s done to lose Paya’s blessing. She wonders why it must be her pups.

To spare herself, she hunts— Fast, hard, unforgiving. She takes trophy after trophy, mounts more and more th’syra on her walls until they overflow. Her weapons drip blood for days. It does nothing to distract her from the pain.

Occasionally, she hunts reckless and wild— blinded by the pain. She hunts until she is almost killed, until she nearly meets The Black Hunter herself. Paya is not as indifferent to her as she thinks. She survives every time. The pain does not leave.

Mating season comes again. It has not been welcome for decades.

Being as old as she is, her heat has become more tolerable over the years. It no longer controls her as it once did, when she was younger and more inclined to indulge. Thankfully.

However, there is always a male. This time, it is a dewy-eyed, dusky one with tresses gray like storm clouds— Older, most likely an Elite. He pursues her for months, delivers her th’syra and bests every other male that dares approach her. His tenacity impresses her, but it’s for naught.

He must not know her reputation. There were only two that challenged him: Youngbloods that didn’t know any better.

When he finally accosts her, she fights like she always had— All claws and fang, growling and bellowing, and ravaging. Making his rut as difficult as possible. It is in her blood to resist, to meet his challenge, to test to see if he is worthy of siring her pup.

The male proves himself. He may be two noks shorter than she is, but what he lacks in height he makes up for in the strength of his burly arms and legs. He manages to pin her, to bade her to submit. She does. He ruts her, his dia-shui is sweet.

He roars when he spills his seed, and she whickers. The male above her dismounts and collects himself. Wetness drips from her core. They do not speak. Outside her yurt, the sky is dark— than-guan. When she looks at him, the dusky male looks like halkrath, but his tresses glow like the luar-ke.

“You’ve wasted your time, male. My womb will bear you no pup.” She snarls, bitter, and the liquid heat of his spend between her legs reminds her of the pain, “Be it by miscarriage or pyode thei-de.”

The male hums, mandibles clicking together as he dons his awu’asa. When he finishes, he holds his syra’yte awu’asa in his paws. He doesn’t put it on. She meets his dewy, liquid gold gaze. His pupils are black holes.

“Every pup I’ve sired has passed before their Chiva. I have checked.” He clicks, stormy tresses fall over his shoulder when he tilts his head. He wears silver bands around them. They remind her of rain drops.

“They meet Cetanu and yet you still try?” She knows calling him by his name draws his attention but she doesn’t care. She’s been trying to lure him for years. All she wants are answers.

“It’s all I can do, female.” He replies simply, and places his syra’yte awu’asa over his face. Vaguely, she doesn’t like how the cold black visor hides his molten eyes.

“What is your name?” She asks the dusky warrior as he’s about to leave her abode for good. He pauses in the doorway, regards her with clicking of his mandibles.

“I am called Rath’ju-dha.” He replies, respectfully dipping his head and pounding a fist against his chest. She preens. Males worship females. Then he makes a mistake and asks, “And you?”

She debates beating him over the head, but withholds. Her bed of furs is soft and tempts sleep. She also does not wish to bleed upon her nest.

“Ni’ja. Do not be presumptuous.” The male doesn’t heed her threat and only clicks in mirth. And then he leaves, vanishing into the halkrath. She stares at the empty threshold. They will never meet again.

Pregnancy results from her mating. Every day of gestation she expects to lose it, to feel the pains in her womb that signal expulsion. When she reaches childbed, the pup emerges bloody and wailing. She braces. She does not sleep through the night. She anticipates a cold nest.

The pup lives past the point in which his other siblings had not. She watches as he grows big and curious. His favorite activity is digging. He has his sire’s eyes: Dewy gold. Healthy. The pain isn’t as strong anymore.

“Pup.” She scolds, beckoning Nan’kuare back to her side. He jolts up from where he digs in the underbrush, rushing to her on too-small legs that can only carry him so fast. She tugs on his pitch black tresses and he whines, clicking and whickering.

“Do not wander from me." Ni'ja scolds, turning her attention back to the th'syra she is polishing. Nan'kuare babbles something that she can't even begin to comprehend. His grasp on language is quite slim.

Nan’kuare plays at her feet, digging holes around her as if he wishes to trap her. The entire time, he clicks and whickers and says words vaguely. Ni’ja knows it’s all gibberish, but she never wants him to stop.

Hours pass, and Ni’ja has cleaned all her th’syra. Nan’kuare has stopped playing hours ago and dozes on her lap. She looks down, and he has slumped against her midriff. The weight of his tiny body is warm.

“Pup.” She says, and her son blinks awake. He looks up at her, bleary-eyed, and chitters. Ni’ja stands, hoisting Nan’kuare onto her hip.

“It is time to eat.” She says, and Nan’kuare trills happily, mandibles clicking in excitement. Aside from digging, his other favorite activity is eating. Ni’ja gives him small cuts of meat and berries squashed into a mush. Nan’kuare whines for more.

Ni’ja finds herself once again astounded by such a small thing’s appetite. She, of course, relents. He eats every bite.

The next mating season rolls around. Ni’ja doesn’t feel her heat, not while she has such a small pup to care for.

However, there is always a male. Usually, they know better. It is unwise for a male to pursue a female with a pup. The female will tear him limb from limb.

However, the dewy-eyed, dusky warrior does not seem to care. Ni’ja can recognize his cloudy tresses and lava eyes from a mile away. His scent carries on the wind.

“Insolent male!” She roars at him when he turns up at the door of her yurt. He has the gall to chitter at her— Bemused and not apologetic in the slightest. Ni’ja is infuriated.

“I have come to meet my pup.” He replies simply, parrying a swipe from Ni’ja’s claws. She snarls, straightening to her full height that has intimidated Yautja before. The male does not keel.

“Rath’ju-dha.” Ni’ja growls, crossing her arms over her chest. In her yurt behind her, Nan’kuare is eating berries. He has never really paid mind to guests anyhow.

“Ni’ja.” Rath’ju-dha says, dipping his head and pounding a fist on his chest. She preens at the respect, again. Nan’kuare looks up at the sound of his mother’s name on a male’s tongue.

Ni’ja allows Rath’ju-dha in.

True to his word, he wanted to confirm that Nan’kuare is the pup he sired. Side by side, Ni’ja internally concedes that they have the same eyes, as well as similar coloring. She will never confess that seeing Rath’ju-dha in her pup’s eyes brings her warmth.

Nan’kuare doesn’t quite understand Rath’ju-dha’s presence, so he hisses at the foreign male. Ni’ja chitters in amusement. Her pup swats at Rath’ju-dha when he attempts to approach him. Good pup.

It does not phase the male. He only shakes his luar-ke tresses and clicks at the tiny thing. His golden eyes are bright. He is happy.

“How does he fare? Is he strong?” Rath’ju-dha asks as he takes his leave, standing in the doorway like he did all those years ago. Only this time, the sun illuminates him like a beacon to the homeland.

“Of course, male. Nan’kuare is strong.” Ni’ja snorts, offended. How dare this male question her pup’s fortitude. She crosses her arms over her chest. Nan’kuare plays at her feet, tiny paws grasping at her ankles. He whickers incoherently.

“He brings me yin’tekai.” Rath’ju-dha murmurs, and dips his head again whole holding his fist directly above his heart. Ni’ja is taken aback by his dignity. She is pleased with his reverence to her.

Ni’ja also agrees. Nan’kuare brings her honor as well.

“N’dhi-ja.” Rath’ju-dha leaves when Ni’ja gestures for him to go. His molten eyes catch Nan’kuare again. Then the male turns on his heel, stormy tresses swinging, and Ni’ja watches him leave her yurt.

He disappears over the horizon, in the blurry haze of the jungle’s mirage. Ni’ja wishes his lightning eyes, thunder tresses, and rain drop silvers well. They will never meet again.

Ni’ja glances down at her pup, and Nan’kuare looks up at her. His dewy, golden eyes stare wide-eyed into hers. His pupils are black holes.

She forgets the pain.

—

yautja translations

awu’asa → armor

bhu’ja → ghost/s (also spirit/soul)

Cetanu → The Black Hunter, Yautja god of death

Chiva → the trial of which a Youngblood Yautja is Blooded should they succeed in killing a kiande amedha (Xenomorph)

dia-shui → musk, specifically that of a male

halkrath → shadow

pyode thei-de → literally soft death, collective term for crib death (SIDS) and stillbirth

luar-ke → moon