Feeding behavior by hummingbirds (Aves: Trochilidae) in artificial food patches in an Atlantic Forest remnant in southeastern Brazil

Abstract

ABSTRACT. During flight, hummingbirds achieve the maximum aerobic metabolism rates within vertebrates. To meet such demands, these birds have to take in as much energy as possible, using strategies such as selecting the best food resources and adopting behaviors that allow the greatest energy gains. We tested whether hummingbirds choose sources that have higher sugar concentrations, and investigated their behaviors near and at food resources. The study was conducted at and T. glaucopis exhibited interspecific and intraspecific dominance; 2) the remaining species exhibited subordinance to the dominant hummingbirds, and 3) P. eurynome and Phaethornis spp. adopted a hide-and-wait strategy to the dominant hummingbird species. The frequency of aggressive behaviors was correlated with the time the hummingbird spent feeding, and bird size. Our results showed that hummingbirds can adopt different strategies to enhance food acquisition; that more aggressive species feeding more than less aggressive species; and that the birds, especially if they were dominant species, visited high quality food resources more often.

Shifting Paradigms in the Mechanics of Nectar Extraction and Hummingbird Bill Morphology

“…One of the most common hummingbird foraging strategies is to exclude competitors from territories through aggressive interactions facilitated by various morphological and behavioral traits ( Stiles 1981 ; González-Gómez et al. 2014 ; Martin and Ghalambor 2014 ; Lanna et al. 2017 ).…”

“…We propose here that diversity of beak morphology in hummingbirds is not only linked to the bill/corolla match, but also is influenced by their foraging strategies. Several behavioral tactics employed by hummingbirds foraging for nectar have been identified (e.g., Feinsinger and Colwell 1978 ; Lanna et al. 2017 ).…”

Is bigger always better? Neither body size nor aggressive behavior are good predictors to measure the degree of specialization of hummingbird interaction networks in rocky outcrops

“…However, smaller species can also establish and defend foraging territories against larger contenders (Wolf et al 1976; Antunes 2003). Hummingbirds of medium-large body masses are more efficient than… in expelling smaller species from food resources (Lanna et al 2017, Lopez-Segoviano et al 2018). Generally, medium-sized hummingbirds and small-medium straight beaks are territorial species, dominant in defense of the food resource (Feinsinger 1976).…”

“…Hummingbirds that are subordinate and do not defend territories must forage for greater distances, visiting a more significant number of flower species, which can increase the richness and frequency of pollen grains adhered to their bodies. Since dominant hummingbirds defend and have exclusive access to more energetic food resources, they do not need to forage for greater distances, gaining more benefits than subordinate hummingbirds (Lanna et al 2017). Dominant and more aggressive hummingbirds may have, then, less richness and less frequency of pollen grains adhered to their bodies (Lanna et al 2017).…”

“…Since dominant hummingbirds defend and have exclusive access to more energetic food resources, they do not need to forage for greater distances, gaining more benefits than subordinate hummingbirds (Lanna et al 2017). Dominant and more aggressive hummingbirds may have, then, less richness and less frequency of pollen grains adhered to their bodies (Lanna et al 2017).…”