#perchers

the sexual dimorphism of dragonflies is always interesting! the male Scarlet Percher above is feiry red all over, while his female counterpart below is a subdued brown, with a subtle scarlet gradient on her abdomen.

(top) Scarlet Percher, male (Diplacodes haematodes).

Perchers中幾個喜歡的橋段✨

ECUADOR HILLSTAR Oreotrochilus chimborazo ©miguelangelpg_22

Nectar is a very important food for the Ecuadorian hillstar and their main source is the orange flowers of the Chuquiraga shrub. For a hummingbird, its feet are relatively large and instead of hovering while feeding, they usually land and feed while clinging to the plant. This behavior saves energy in the cold environment where they live. Insects are another important food source, many of which are caught in the air or foraged in the vegetation and along the cliffs. At night or when the weather is bad they seek shelter in caves or crevices in ravines. During the night they go into a torpid state to conserve energy.

To protect from the weather, nests are often built in caves or on the walls of steep ravines, usually with an overhang for added protection from hail, rain, and the midday Sun. Some nests are built in protective bushes. The nests are very large for a hummingbird and are built out of warm material like grass, moss, feathers, plant down, horse hair, and rabbit fur. In highly desirable locations, several nests may be found in close proximity. The clutch size is two, and he male does not participate in the nest building, incubation of the eggs, or feeding of the young. (source)

There are two species of Hillstars living close together, the other is Oreotrochilus chimborazo jamesonii 

The South American Percher is a dragon species that has been extinct for centuries after the Spanish invasion and colonization of South America, making actual pictures of it non-existent and reliable information about it scarce. BUT I was able to pull some old scientific illustrations by English biologists from the British Museum archives!

From the first plate we can see that the illustrations were probably made based off of taxidermied specimens since the wings are drawn separately. This means that its exact posture and shape are somewhat unreliable, but it’s also the best we have since early attempts at taxidermy are rarely any better. Modern museum recreation models depict Perchers as standing taller, more like a drake, rather than crouched like in the illustration.

Early explorers who tried to capture and ship live Perchers never succeeded in getting the animal back to Europe before it died, hence the artist’s reliance on dead specimens. Since the first wave of the Spanish Conquistadors brought a host of dragon diseases via their Spanish Razorwing dragons by the time researchers arrived to the continent–with the intent to study Perchers instead of slaughtering them on sight to gain an upper hand on the natives who rode them–Perchers were all but impossible to find without venturing to the most remote mountain peaks.

We do know that, like all Perchers, the South American Percher had climbing agility that allowed it to cling to even sheer rock, allowing it to scramble across rock cliffs and walls even while upside down. Its grappling hook-like claws, developed toes, and thick footpads clue us into this ability. It is also the largest species of Percher ever discovered, large enough to carry a single rider. It is unclear from historical accounts if it was strong enough to cling to the underside of rock while a rider was on it.

We also know from archived skins that, with the exception of the belly and under limbs, it was covered in thick plumes. (The feathers were especially thick along the spine and on the top of its head where they formed a crest.) Although the exact color is hard to determine–since museum skins have faded significantly over time to a pale tan–records say that the feathers ranged from canary yellow to a delicate white-gold.

While feathers aren’t rare in dragon species (most domestic European species feathers have had them bred out of the bloodline for easier handling and saddling, and firebreathing species naturally do not have them) the sheer density of feathers on the South American Percher combined with other distinctly avian features such as a beak led to some contention in the scientific community over its classification. Eventually, the presence of six limbs and other skeletal and muscular minutia tentatively settled it as a dragon species but in the Sicutavis family, a family it shares with no other living species (but some ancient long extinct ones) in the order Draco which itself is in the Reptilia class.

Its wings especially are a truly unique example of avian reptilian evolution not found in any other known dragon species:

The combination of both wing membrane and fully developed flight feathers is sometimes found in wyverns (especially species native to the Americas) but never so prominently in dragons. The South American Percher’s wings were so heavily feathered that it seems likely that the feathers weren’t entirely redundant like in other feathered dragon species. Being able to study the species in the wild may have been able to provide valuable scientific information and clues on the development and evolution of dragon species and flight patterns.

Not much is known about their behavior, breeding, or social habits. A few things that we do know from old journals include the fact that they were very flock oriented, territorial, and not entirely tamed by their human riders. Human and dragon seemed to have acted more as symbiotic hunting partners than rider and mount.

Instead of native South Americans raising and breeding Perchers, they would instead befriend a local flock, feeding them to keep them roosting nearby their villages and cities. When they flock wanted to hunt they would allow select natives to mount them bareback and then share the kill, having learned that human weapons and assistance could take down prey or defend against territory intruders more reliably than hunting alone. Whether Perchers could be ridden for purposes other than hunting or defending territory is unknown.

This cooperative behavior did result in Perchers reportedly being flown in conflict against the Spanish invaders–who the Perchers evidently also saw as a territory invading threat–but reliable accounts of any detail are scattered and subject to exaggeration or fragmented information across personal diaries. 

Regardless of battle accuracy, the undeniable fact remains that within a couple years the Percher population across the continent had been decimated by disease and targeted hunting by soldiers and trappers eager to ship the exotic gold feathers back to Europe where they were eagerly snapped up by plume merchants and haberdashers for top prices.

Needless to say, scientists have long mourned the premature loss of the South American Percher, a fascinating and valuable specimen whose study could have shed light on many mysteries in a host of scientific fields.

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there's lots of dragonflies around lately, and i've even found some of their larvae molts in the pond!

✤ Orthetrum caledonicum, “Blue Skimmer Dragonfly”? - Libellulidae, “Skimmers, Perchers, Gliders”