Tierra del Fuego Travel Guide

Parrots and hummingbirds are the type of birds you associate more with the steamy, verdant jungles of the Amazon than the frigid extremes of Tierra del Fuego. Nevertheless, trust your eyes not your judgement, for you can see both in Ushuaia's Parque Nacional. The unmistakeably garrulous austral parakeet is the world's most southerly parrot, inhabiting these temperate forests year round. The Selk'nam christened this bird Kerrhprrh , in onomatopoeic imitation of its call. Once upon a time, according to their beliefs, all Fuegian trees had been evergreen, and Kerrhprrh it was who transformed some into deciduous forests, painting them autumnal reds with the feathers of his breast. The tiny green-backed firecrown is the planet's most southerly hummingbird, and has been glimpsed - albeit rarely - flickering about flowering shrubs in summer. Known to the Selk'nam by the graceful name of Sinu K-Tam (Daughter of the Wind), this diminutive creature was, strangely, believed by them to be the offspring of Ohchin the whale and Sinu , the wind.