Article

White-eared Hummingbird (Hylocharis leucotis)

March 2020

DOI:10.2173/bow.whehum.01

Authors:

Maria Del coro Arizmendi

Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

Claudia Rodríguez-Flores

El Colegio de la Frontera Sur

Carlos Alberto Soberanes

Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

Breeding in the cold? A White-eared Hummingbird (Basilinna leucotis) winter nest record from the mountains of Southern Oaxaca, Mexico

Article

Sep 2020
WILSON J ORNITHOL

We report the finding of a White-eared Hummingbird (Basilinna leucotis) nest during the winter. The observation took place on 9 February 2019 in San José del Pacífico, Oaxaca, Mexico, in the Sierra Madre del Sur. The hummingbird nest was located in the understory, 115 cm above the ground. The nest was placed within a plot of a pine-oak forest at 2,857 m a.s.l. and had 2 nestlings with complete juvenile plumage. Floral phenology is known to be a key factor that determines the biological cycles of hummingbirds, which rely heavily on nectar resources to fulfill their nutritional needs in the breeding season. Around the nest, we observed Salvia punicans Epling, a plant that blossoms during the winter months in the Mexican mountains and is visited by White-eared Hummingbirds. Previous winter nest records in Southern Oaxaca date from more than 50 year ago. We briefly discuss the implications of winter reproduction for the species and the potential commonness of this event.

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Observational Learning in the White‐Eared Hummingbird (Hylocharis leucotis): Experimental Evidence

August 2009 · Ethology

The adoption of new food resources can be facilitated by the ability to learn through observation of other individuals who use them. This behavior, termed observational learning, applies to any problem solving in which a naive individual who has observed an experienced individual learns a behavior faster than another who has not. Hummingbirds consume nectar from flowers of a large number of plant ... [Show full abstract] species, which are very diverse in morphology and color. During their local or migratory movements, they can observe the use of floral resources by conspecifics and heterospecifics which may change their foraging preferences. Although there is evidence that hummingbirds can use observational learning to exploit new floral resources, it is necessary to generate additional information by studying different hummingbird species. In this work, the learning performance of White-eared hummingbirds (Hylocharis leucotis) was studied in the presence or absence of a knowledgeable tutor. In a first experiment, naïve hummingbirds learned to feed on arrays of artificial flower of two colors: red (previously known resource) and yellow (novel resource), where only one color had nectar. Naive hummingbirds visited red flowers faster and more often than rewarded yellow flowers. Individuals with the best performance on each color were further trained to ensure that they only visited flowers of a specific color, and were then used as tutors in the next experiment, in which new naive hummingbirds, caged individually, were allowed to observe them foraging on the artificial arrays. These naïve individual were then exposed alone to the same array used by their tutor. Tutored hummingbirds learned to feed faster and more frequently from nectar-containing flowers of the array than naive individuals. Likewise, all tutored individuals only visited flowers of the color that had been previously visited by their tutors. This study provides experimental evidence that hummingbirds taken directly from the field can use observational learning as an efficient strategy to access new floral resources.

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Sensibilidad al riesgo durante el forrajeo en los colibríes Hylocharis leucotis y Selasphorus platyc...

June 2013 · Huitzil Revista Mexicana de Ornitología

The risk sensitivity is the ability of a species to respond behaviourally to the variability of the rewards in a given environment. An organism can be aversive, prone or indifferent to risk. Risk sensitivity and previous experience has not been tested in the hummingbirds Hylocharis leucotis and Selasphorus platycercus. Since both species have similar residence status, territoriality and they feed ... [Show full abstract] on the same plant species, we hypothesized the same response in both factors. In this study we determine the type of risk sensitivity that show the hummingbirds H. leucotis and S. platycercus when exposed to a 10 min experience visiting artificial flowers with reward quality variation. Hylocharis leucotis showed no preference for any rewards (constant or variable), so it behaved as indifferent to risk, while S. platycercus showed preference for a constant reward, behaving as a risk aversion species. We detected that a 10 min experience did not modify significantly the risk sensitivity behaviour of these species. Our results indicated that the tested species have different risk sensitivity and that a 10 min experience did no modify their reward preference.

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Gilded Hummingbird (Hylocharis chrysura)

March 2020

Schuchmann, K.L., Kirwan, G.M. & Boesman, P. (2020). Gilded Hummingbird (Hylocharis chrysura) In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/55471).

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Morphological dimorphism varies across the endemic Xantus’ hummingbird (Hylocharis xantusii) genetic...

January 2018 · ACTA ZOOLÓGICA MEXICANA (N S )

Morphological dimorphism traits play an important role in our understanding of species evolution. In birds, sexual dimorphism occurs in a number of characteristics, such as body and shape size, wing and bill morphology. Hylocharis xantusii is the only hummingbird species endemic to the Baja California Peninsula, Mexico that has adapted to xeric conditions, associated to oases regions, and ... [Show full abstract] displays a sexual dimorphism on color pattern. We quantified morphological variation between males and females to determine whether morphological traits have a significant contribution to sexual dimorphism, and we analyzed if differences in morphological patterns among genetic populations of Xantus’ hummingbird existed. A morphological dimorphism was found in four of six traits analyzed, males were bigger in size (total length) with larger wings (wing chord and tail length) and wider bills (bill width). Differences in morphological traits of genetic populations were found. Individuals of southern population were in average smaller than central and northern populations while individuals from central populations had larger bills and wing chords. Northern populations had longer tails and wider bills. The results indicated that populations and sex are independent to morphological differences in Xantus’ hummingbird. The best fitted GLM shows that the altitude and oasis location related to the genetic population correctly explains the differences in tail, wing chord and bill width traits of hummingbirds along the Baja California Peninsula. We suggest that local conditions related to environmental heterogeneity and oases distribution are promoting levels of morphological differentiation. Genetic populations were already known to be result of their evolutionary history, of the phylogeographic pattern. Sexual dimorphism on morphological traits observed in H. xantusii is related in first place to ecological differences among oases, and second, related to mating and social behavior.