The red-billed streamertail (Trochilus polytmus), also known as the ‘doctor bird,’ is indigenous to Jamaica, where it is the most abundant and widespread member of the hummingbird family. It is the national bird of Jamaica.
The Arawaks believed the green hummingbird was magic and was believed to be a reincarnation of dead souls. Songs and folklore were written surrounding it. Because the species is fast and hard to catch and kill, they believed it was a “God bird” that held souls of the dead. In rural parts of Jamaica, people believed that killing the bird would result in bad luck.
The birds feed on nectar from flowers using a long extendable tongue or catch small insects on the wing. The next-to-outermost rectrices of the male are 15–18 centimetres (6–7 in) long, far longer than its bearer’s body. Females lack the elongated rectrices, and are largely white below.
Most authorities now consider the red-billed streamertail a separate species to the black-billed streamertail.
Details
- Designer: Victor Whitely
- Printer: Harrison & Sons Ltd.
- Process: Photogravure
- Paper:
- Watermark: Multiple J & Pineapple
- Perf: 14.5 (comb)
- Cylinders:
- 1A 1A 1A 1A
- 1B 1B 1B 1B
- 1C 1C 1C 1C
- 1D 1D 1D 1D
- Sheet: R6 x 10 (60 stamps)
- Quantity:
- Reprint: 16 July 1968
Sheet Numbers
References
- Sunset at the Palms: Meet the “Doctor Bird” Hummingbird- Jamaica’s Spectacular National Bird
- Wikipedia: Red-billed streamertail
