New York

One of world’s rarest birds caught on tape

Armed only with a song, two naturalists flushed what may be the world’s rarest bird on the steep slopes of the Himalayas, a species never before seen alive in the wild.

The sighting of the secretive stub-tailed creature, known formally as the rusty-throated wren-babbler, was disclosed Saturday by the American Museum of Natural History in New York. The sighting was confirmed with photographs and videotape.

Benjamin King, a museum ornithologist, and Julian Donahue, a retired curator at the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History, identified the bird during a November expedition into the Mishmi Hills of northeastern India near the Chinese border, at an altitude of about 8,000 feet.

They lured it into the open by playing a tape recording of bird calls, Donahue said.

The only previous evidence of the species had been a single dead bird found in 1947 during an expedition into the region led by S. Dillon Ripley, head of the Smithsonian Institution. Westerners are rarely allowed into this densely forested part of India.

Designer shares tips for stylish traveler

New York — Designer Michael Kors does his fair share of traveling; he goes all over the world looking both for inspiration and for in-store appearances.

He’s got the packing thing down, and he shares his tips to be a stylish traveler in the March issue of Glamour:

• Athletic-inspired clothes, such as fitted hoodies and lean sweatpants, can be a traveler’s best friend since they are cute and comfortable, but that doesn’t give you permission to dress head to toe for the gym.
• Remember that stilettos never look sexy when traveling — they look torturous. Try flats instead.
• Wear a coat appropriate in weight for your trip, but don’t choose one that’s so bulky that it won’t fit in the overhead compartment.
• Know that oversize dark shades have been the best friend of every jet-setter, from Jackie Onassis to Elle Macpherson to Kate Moss.
• Organize your bag before you get in the security line. No one wants to wait for you to sort through old saltines and dead lipsticks to find your boarding pass.
• Don’t wear your lowest-cut jeans with a short top on the plane. You’ll have to reach up to get your bags and will end up revealing too much to your seatmates.
• Don’t turn the plane cabin into your own personal spa moment. If you douse yourself with fragrance, you douse everyone else with fragrance.
• Edit your wardrobe before you leave so you’re not loaded down with so many bags that you’ll be mistaken for the luggage carousel.

Author focuses on life of Vogue editor-in-chief

New York — Jerry Oppenheimer, the author of an unflattering biography of Martha Stewart, has set his sights on another businesswoman: Anna Wintour.

“Front Row — Anna Wintour: The Cool Life and Hot Times of Vogue’s Editor in Chief” is an insider’s look at an insider’s life, according to publisher St. Martin’s Press.

The book chronicles Wintour’s childhood as the daughter of well-to-do but liberal parents, her teenage years in London during the 1960s, and her series of publishing jobs that eventually led her to become arguably the most influential woman in fashion.

She championed the careers of young designers Marc Jacobs, Vera Wang and Zac Posen.

Oppenheimer says he interviewed scores of people who were privy to Wintour’s private world, and that he researched the book for months.