Tag Archives: Myzomela jugularis

A Fijian hummingbird?

Rollo H. Beck, an American ornithologist, quotes some notes that he recieved by a Mr. G. T. Barker on June 5, 1925, during a stay on the island of Viti Levu, Fiji: ‘Notes by Mr. G. T. Barker, Suva, Fiji. June 5, 1925’.

One of these notes is about an alleged Fijian hummingbird.:

Humming bird

One evening as I was sitting on the steps, I saw what I took to be a night moth settle on a hibiscus flower. …
The supposed moth kept its wings in rapid motion, while poised before the flower sucking the honey with its long slender bill.
I struck the “moth” with a fly switch which I had in my hand, and on picking it up, found that I had killed a small bird. I had seen only the pictures of humming birds but I concluded that this was one. Its slightly curved bill was black, as was the slender, pointed tail; the fine feathers on the breast were a bright red; the shoulders and patch under the tail were of darker tone.
Herewith is a sketch drawn to scale, which I made the next morning, after I found that the rats had eaten the bird from the wall where I pinned it. 
1921

Depiction by G. T. Barker; from: ‘ Whitney South Sea Expedition of the American Museum of Natural History. Extracts from the journal of Rollo H. Beck. Vol. 2, Dec. 1923 – Aug. 1925’

(public domain)

Feathers, fine as the fur of flying fox
Wings, very small
Body, red
Head and back, darker than breast
Bill and legs, black
” [1]

Of course, hummingbirds are not found outside of the Americas, and this anecdote is 
supposed to have taken place on the island of Viti Levu, Fiji. 

But what kind of bird is involved in this story then? 

I have to confess that I have no real idea, the most likely candidate is the orange-breasted Myzomela (Myzomela jugularis Peale), however, this species hasn’t a red body.

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I personally think that this account is a very bad eyewithness records, made by someone not really interested in the natural world.

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References:

[1] Whitney South Sea Expedition of the American Museum of Natural History. Extracts from the journal of Rollo H. Beck. Vol. 2, Dec. 1923 – Aug. 1925

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edited: 14.03.2020