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Kolophon |
PHP: The Good Parts
First Edition Mai 2010
ISBN 978-0-596-80437-4
174 Seiten
EUR24.50
Weitere Informationen zu diesem Buch
Kolophon |
Kolophon
The animal on the cover of PHP: The Good Parts is
a Booted Racket-tail hummingbird (Ocreatus
underwoodii). The Booted Racket-tail is a species that, as its
name suggests, is noted for a pair of distinctive features: a split tail
that is sometimes thought to resemble a pair of tennis rackets with
elongated handles and small heads, and legs clad with downy white feathers,
causing the bird to appear to be wearing boots. Female Booted Racket-tails
also sport white breast plumage.
The Booted Racket-tail is a South American variety of hummingbird, and
can be found along the Andean cordillera, in the rainforests of Bolivia,
Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. Because of its fairly widespread habitat, the
bird is considered relatively common in western South America. Nonetheless,
Booted Racket-tails are a popular subject for birdwatchers and photographers
visiting the region, likely due to the species' distinctive
appearance.
In 2004, researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, and
the California Institute of Technology
included Booted Racket-tails in a study of Peruvian hummingbirds intended to
discover why the species remained mostly at lower altitudes, as opposed to venturing up higher where there is
less competition for food. Not surprisingly, the researchers noted that at
higher altitudes, where the air is thinner, the hummingbirds demonstrated a
loss of power and maneuverability, hampering their ability to thrive.
An image of Booted Racket-tails also appeared on a 1996 Ecuadorian
postage stamp.
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