How to translate text using browser tools
29 December 2021 A possible interspecific feeding event of two hummingbird species in southeast Mexico
Dallas R. Levey, María del Coro Arizmendi
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

We documented a potential interspecies feeding event between 2 species of hummingbirds in southeastern Mexico in 2019. We used morphological and behavioral traits to identify the hummingbirds as an adult female White-bellied Emerald (Chlorestes candida) and a juvenile Rufous-tailed Hummingbird (Amazilia tzacatl). We ruled out the possibility of hybridization due to a lack of intermediate traits in the juvenile hummingbird, which allowed for the speculation of 4 interspecies behavioral mechanisms: brood parasitism, courtship feeding, simultaneous multiple nesting, or alloparental care of young. Due to the complexity of the first 3 mechanisms and lack of documented evidence of the behaviors between the 2 species of hummingbirds, the most likely mechanism to explain the observed behavior is alloparental care of young by an inexperienced adult female White-bellied Emerald.

Dallas R. Levey and María del Coro Arizmendi "A possible interspecific feeding event of two hummingbird species in southeast Mexico," The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 133(2), 333-339, (29 December 2021). https://doi.org/10.1676/20-00105
Received: 22 September 2020; Accepted: 22 July 2021; Published: 29 December 2021
KEYWORDS
Alloparental care
Amazilia tzacatl
brood parasitism
Chlorestes candida
hybridization
Neotropics
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top