Analysis of the feeding habits of the swallow-tailed hummingbird, Eupetomena macroura (Gmelin, 1788), in an urban park in southeastern Brazil

Abstract

The aim of this work was to observe and describe the feeding habits and available food resources of the swallow-tailed hummingbird, Eupetomena macroura. The study was carried out in a municipal park located in the city of Taubaté, in the state of São Paulo. The observations took place between December 2003 and October 2004, recording the following variables: 1) the plant species visited for feeding and territorial defense; 2) the kinds of food resources; and 3) the kinds of flight to procure and obtain food. E. macroura visited 12 plant species. For territorial defense, Mangifera indica was the most visited, whereas Malvaviscus arboreus was most visited for feeding. The foliage was the plant part that received the most frequent visits. In order to obtain nectar, the only species visited was M. arboreus; to obtain arthropods, the species most visited were Mangifera indica and Hymenaea stilbocarpa. In the dry season, the hummingbirds visited flowers, whereas in the rainy season they visited leaves to acquire food. The arthropod groups most frequently found on leafy branches were Homoptera and Psocoptera. Finally, the results of the type of flight analysis showed that flight used to capture food was more often observed than were flights to search for food. In conclusion, these observations suggest that E. macroura shows plasticity in feeding behavior, which can help it to persist in urban areas.Keywords: urban area, Eupetomena macroura, swallow-tailed hummingbird, feeding behaviour, arthropods, nectar. Análise do comportamento alimentar do beija-flor tesourão,

The hummingbird community and their floral resources in an urban forest remnant in Brazil

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The association between nectar availability and nectarivore density in urban and natural environments

“…In cities throughout South America, hummingbirds (Trochilidae) and some species of sunbird (Nectarinidae) are often a conspicuous component of the avifauna, and some species of nectarivores, particularly large-bodied honeyeaters of the family Meliphagidae and Psittacidae, are abundant throughout many Australian cities (Arizmendi et al 2007;Catterall 2004;Catterall et al 2010;Davis et al 2012;Major and Parsons 2010;Toledo and Moreira 2008;Young et al 2007).…”

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

“…We evaluated the time spent in each food patch and the behavior exhibited by the hummingbirds in each food patch. An ethogram was built based on 100h of pilot observations and information from the scientific literature (Barçante and Mahecha 2004, Loss and Silva 2005, Toledo and Moreira 2008, Araújo-Silva and Bessa 2010 (Table 1).…”