Tag: Bolivia
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Unlocking the secrets of the Sword-Billed Hummingbird’s open beak
The Sword-billed hummingbird has the longest beak in proportion to its body compared to any other bird. Why is this, and what secrets are behind the Sword-billed Hummingbird’s open beak? Let’s have a look. First of all, look at that extensive beak, much longer than the bird’s body. Beakonomics: Measuring Up the Sword-Billed Hummingbird The…
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Puya Raimondii, the flower spike that’s “Queen of the Andes”
Puya Raimondii is a bromeliad species (flowering plant) native to Bolivia and Peru. That’s the same family as pineapples, which the inflorescences (a collection of flowers arranged on a stem) resemble in full bloom. The so-called “Queen of the Andes” stands up to 50 feet high, with a trunk stretching to heights of 16 feet…
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Salar de Uyuni is the largest salt flat in the world
The high-altitude salt flat of Salar de Uyuni in southwest Bolivia creates the world’s biggest natural mirror. The flat sits near the crest of the Andes at an elevation of 11,995 ft above sea level. Considered one of the flattest surfaces on Earth (4,086 sq mi), the salt flat, also known as the “Mirror of…
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Meet Bolivia’s powerful female wrestlers, Flying Cholitas
Photographer Todd Anthony took pictures of Bolivia’s indigenous female wrestlers for his new project, Flying Cholitas. This unique group of athletes wear more than stylish dresses and beautiful petticoats — they come together to demonstrate pride in their history. Once colonized by the Spanish and rejected as lower-class citizens, pejoratively known as “cholita,” they have since…