Hummingbirds of Northern Peru Featured in Upcoming Roseburg Library Presentation

Thirty-five species of hummingbirds will take center stage during a free presentation at the Roseburg Public Library on Wednesday, Oct. 7.

Umpqua Bird Alliance and the library will host “The Northern Peru Hummingbirds” at 6 p.m. Naturalist and video photographer Serge Queant will lead the in-person program at the library, 1409 NE Diamond Lake Boulevard.

Through his video photography, Queant will take attendees on a tour of eight well-known hummingbird reserves in northern Peru. The presentation will feature some of the world’s largest, smallest, rarest, and most colorful hummingbird species.

A second portion of the program will highlight other birds found in the region, including the Inca tern, Humboldt penguin, Andean condor, rare diademed sandpiper, and paradise tanager.

Queant was born in Paris and developed an interest in wildlife after beginning work with a video camera. After college, he became an ethologist and spent nine years studying the social behavior of a captive group of 11 chimpanzees. He later documented snakes throughout Europe and North Africa before traveling with his camera to the Mojave and Sonoran deserts in 1976.

His career also included five years studying international gastronomy. Queant later served as executive chef of the World Trade Club of San Francisco and as a guest chef at the White House.

After retiring to Roseburg in 2005, Queant developed an interest in birds and became an avid birder.

The Oct. 7 program is free and will be offered in person only. Additional information is available by contacting Roseburg Public Library staff at 541-492-7050 or library@roseburgor.gov.

More information about Umpqua Bird Alliance is available at umpquaaudubon.org.