Seasonal changes in a honeyeater assemblage in Banksia woodland near Perth,Western Australia

Abstract

Honeyeaters were the most numerous birds in banksia woodland near Perth, Western Australia, throughout the year. Numbers were greatest in a Banksia littoralis swamp, but only during those few months when it contained large amounts of nectar. In the surrounding woodland, numbers were lower but fairly constant during the year. This reflects the smaller amounts of nectar produced throughout the year, by the overlapping flowering patterns of several Banksia and Adenanthos species.

Large and medium-sized honeyeaters (wattlebirds and New Holland Honeyeaters) and flocking silvereyes dominated the swamp when it flowered. In contrast, small honeyeaters (spinebills and Brown Honeyeaters), many of whom were highly territorial residents, comprised the majority of the woodland assemblage throughout the year. These observations support a model based upon aggressive defence of rich nectar sources by the larger honeyeater species, and more efficient exploitation of dispersed flowers by smaller honeyeaters.     

Bills and tongues of nectar-feeding birds: A review of morphology,function and performance,with intercontinental comparisons

The bills and tongues of nectar-feeding birds differ from continent to continent. The major differences are that: (i) the tongues of A Australian honeyeaters are broader any more fimbricated at the tip than the bifurcated tongues of sunbirds and hummingbirds; (ii) the bills of hummingbirds are more uniformly narrow and taper less markedly towards their tips than those of sun-birds and honeyeaters; and (iii) bill curvatures are generally greater for sunbirds and honey-creepers than for hummingbirds. A variety of hummingbirds has straight or even slightly upturned bills, while bills for all sunbirds, honeycreepers and honeyeaters are decurved to some extent. Despite differences in tongue morphology, hummingbirds, sunbirds and honeyeaters extract nectar at a similar range of rates, averaging approximately 40 γL s^?1 from ad libitum feeders, and 1–15 γL^?1 from flowers. All tongues collect nectar by capillarity, with licking rates of 6–17 s^?1. Licking behaviour has been little studied, although speeds of licking respond to changes in sugar concentration and corolla length. The tongues of honeyeaters are broad, and may need to be brush-tipped in order to allow capillary collection of nectar. Brush-tipped tongues can cover large surface areas on each lick, and may allow honeyeaters to exploit nectar and honeydew that is thinly spread over large surface areas. Bill lengths of nectarivorous birds are similar in all regions, though species of hummingbird have the shortest and longest bills. Bill lengths largely determine the range of floral lengths that can be legitimately probed. Maximum floral lengths exceed bill lengths, since hummingbirds, sunbirds and honeyeaters protrude their tongues beyond the tips of their bills. Rates of nectar extraction, however, decline rapidly once the floral length exceeds bill length. Decurved bills may have evolved in honeyeaters and sunbirds to enable perching birds to reach flowers at the ends of branches more easily. Consistent differences in bill length between the sexes suggest that males and females may exploit different floral resources or different proportions of the same resources. For honeyeaters and sunbirds, males have longer bills than females, but the reverse is true for many hummingbirds.     

The diet of the New Holland honeyeater,Phylidonyris novaehollandiae

New Holland honeyeaters collect nectar, manna or honeydew for energy and hawk small flying insects for protein. The insects taken were usually Diptera and Hymenoptera weighing 0.7 mg dry weight or less. Net rates of energy gain from hawking small flying insects were usually less than 20 J min^?1 and sometimes negative and insufficient to meet the bird's daily energy requirements. Those from feeding on nectar, manna or honeydew were usually above 40J min^?1 and often above 400J min^?1 at dawn and the birds depended on these carbohydrates for energy. Nectar, manna and honeydew contained negligible amounts of protein, and the birds used small flying insects as sources of protein, and presumably other nutrients. Given that carbohydrate resources supply better rates of energy gain than insects. New Holland honeyeaters should collect their energy requirements from carbohydrates and only collect sufficient insects to satisfy their protein requirements. Estimates of the food intakes of both non-breeding and breedig birds showed that they did this. Non-breeding New Holland honeyeaters collected from 72 to 125 (mean 92) kJ of carbohydrates per day and 17 to 58 (mean 31) mg of protein per day. These meet the daily energy (75 kJ) and protein (20 mg) requirements of the birds. Breedig birds collected more carbohydrates and more insects, but in proportion to their increased energy and protein requirements respectively. New Holland honeyeaters are probably limited by their ability to meet their energy requirements from nectar, manna or honeydew and not by insects. Non-breeding birds collected their protein requirements in about 10 min of insect-feeding, but spent from 33 to 90% of the day collecting carbohydrates to meet their energy requirements. The maintenance requirement of 20 mg of protein per day for New Holland honeyeaters is about 25% of that estimated from standard equations for a bird of the same size. This low level may have evolved in response to low energy availability.     

Do Birdwatchers Care about Bird Disturbance?

ABSTRACT

Little is known about how non-consumptive recreationists perceive their impacts on animals and how this relates to recreationist behavior. We surveyed attitudes and behaviors relating to bird disturbance of 179 birdwatchers who visited a world-renowned, restricted-access birdwatching destination (the Western Treatment Plant [WTP], Victoria, Australia). We distributed a 10-page, 49-question survey to birdwatchers at the WTP and posted it to a mailing list of those who held birdwatching access permits. The questionnaire explored socio-demographic profiles of respondents, and their bird- watching behaviors and attitudes to bird disturbance. Birdwatchers regarded vehicles as particularly disturbing and some bird groups, and breeding birds, as especially sensitive to disturbance. They generally disagreed with the contention that birdwatchers and plant workers disturb birds. All respondents reported using strategies to mitigate bird disturbance (e.g., keeping quiet and distant). Those who adopted more strategies to mitigate disturbance agreed more with the contention that birdwatchers and workers cause disturbance, and that breeding birds are especially sensitive to disturbance. Our results suggest that birdwatchers who perceive that their activity disturbs birds are more likely to modify their behaviors to minimize the disturbance. As such, wildlife managers and educators must clearly communicate possible impacts of birdwatching to birdwatchers to maximize the uptake of ethical birdwatching practices.     

Finding your mate in a seabird colony: contrasting strategies of the Guillemot Uria aalge and King Penguin Aptenodytes patagonicus

Capsule King Penguins recognize their mates by voice, but Guillemots do not need acoustic cues even though their calls show individual variation.

Aims To determine whether the structure of Guillemot calls could allow individual recognition, as with King Penguin, and whether acoustic cues are used to locate mates among a dense mass of conspecifics at a colony.

Methods Observations were made on breeding Guillemots and King Penguins. Calls made by birds returning to their mates were recorded, the signals digitized and the calls analysed. Calls were later played back to the mates of the birds concerned and the effects noted on both them and their neighbours.

Results Both Guillemots and King Penguins emitted calls on return to the breeding site which contained individual signatures and were therefore potentially usable for mate recognition. In King Penguins, auditory recognition was essential for finding a mate, whereas in Guillemots most of the arriving birds located their mate in a dense crowd of conspecifics without the help of acoustic signals. Guillemots could differentiate neighbours from strangers without auditory cues.

Conclusion Calls are essential for the successful identification of mates by King Penguins but not by Guillemots.     

Fifty years of Bird Study

Capsule Field ornithology is alive and well, and in the future can contribute much more in Britain and elsewhere.

Aims To review the progress of field ornithology in Britain in the context of Bird Study and the British Trust for Ornithology.

Methods An overview was taken of the main subject areas published in Bird Study to characterize progress over 50 years. Some quantification of data on the main bird organizations was performed.

ResultsKnowledge of status and trends of British birds has moved from the qualitative to generally well detailed quantitative over the past 50 years. Causes of distribution and changes are increasingly well understood in terms of habitat and of population processes. Behaviour and ecology have grown to be separate disciplines in their own right although birds have been major subjects of study within them. Migration studies have lagged somewhat in Britain but advanced elsewhere in recent decades. Amongst the main bird organizations, the BTO still has a growing membership, that of the RSPB has reached an astonishing level but may be nearing a plateau while the BOU's membership is clearly in decline.

Conclusions Field ornithology has made a large contribution to the environmental debate and the future is set for further integration across disciplines in answering large-scale questions. Great public interest has supported the growth of ornithology with a big switch from amateur to professional workers. There is a major challenge to exploit the value of birds in promoting interest in the environment and delivering sound facts to support the biodiversity debate elsewhere on Earth. Fifty years of history in Britain indicate what is possible.     

Pollinator visits to floral colour phases of Fuchsia excorticata

Abstract

Fuchsia excorticata is a gynodioecious tree (endemic to New Zealand) which is pollinated by honeyeater birds. Red, tubular flowers are common among bird-pollinated plants, and the tubular flowers of F. excorticata change colour from green to red. The purpose of the present study was to describe the timing of the colour change, dropping of the floral tube, and nectar production of F. excorticata and to determine how bellbirds (Anthornis melanura) and two introduced species of nectar robbers (Zosterops lateralis and Bombus sp.) respond to the different colour phases.

Floral tubes fell off about 11 days after anthesis in both sexes, with colour change occurring on about Day-4 for female trees and on about Day-5 for hermaphrodite trees. Green-phase hermaphrodite flowers produced significantly more nectar/day than did green-phase female flowers, while red-phase flowers did not produce nectar in either sex. All three floral visitors studied preferentially visited green-phase flowers and virtually ignored the nectarless flowers in the red phase. These results contrast with the general association between red, bird-pollinated flowers and the presence of a nectar reward. We suggest that the non-migratory habit of the New Zealand honeyeaters and the lack of native insect visitors to this species may account for this anomalous green-to-red colour change.     

Counting birds on farmland habitats in winter

Capsule Perimeter counts underestimate the number of birds using agricultural fields.

Aims To determine the degree to which farmland birds may be undercounted on field surveys and the factors influencing this.

Methods In a study of 96 fields, birds in the field were counted during a walk of the perimeter. Afterwards transects were walked across the field to determine the number of birds missed. Additionally in a national survey we looked at the birds seen in field transects expressed as a proportion of the total seen in the transect and on perimeter counts.

Results To obtain an accurate count of birds on a field requires the use of the whole-area search methodology especially for species such as Grey Partridge Perdix perdix, Snipe Gallinago gallinago, Skylark Alauda arvensis and Meadow Pipit Anthus pratensis. However, for a large number of species, including thrushes, flocking finches and buntings, over 90% of individuals can be recorded using the much less time-consuming perimeter count method.

Conclusions Perimeter counts are likely to be reliable for most species but special efforts may be required for a few cryptic species.     

Winter territoriality and its implications for the breeding ecology of White-throated Dippers Cinclus cinclus

Capsule: Pairs of White-throated Dippers Cinclus cinclus which defended winter territories bred earlier than non-territorial individuals, but there was no difference in reproductive success.

Aims: The effect of winter territoriality on breeding ecology has rarely been studied in resident birds. We carried out a preliminary investigation of whether winter territorial behaviour and territory size affect the timing of reproduction, breeding territory size and reproductive success in a riverine bird, the White-throated Dipper.

Methods: We monitored an individually marked population of White-throated Dippers in the UK. Wintering individuals were classified as either territorial or ‘floaters’ according to their patterns of occurrence and behaviour, and their nesting attempts were closely monitored in the subsequent months. Winter and breeding territory sizes were measured by gently ‘pushing’ birds along the river and recording the point at which they turned back.

Results: All birds defending winter territories did so in pairs, but some individuals changed partners before breeding. Territorial pairs that were together throughout the study laid eggs significantly earlier than pairs containing floaters and those comprising territorial birds that changed partners. However, there were no significant differences in clutch size, nestling mass or the number of chicks fledged. There was no relationship between winter territory length and lay date or any measure of reproductive success, although sample sizes were small. Winter territories were found to be significantly shorter than breeding territories.

Conclusion: Winter territoriality may be advantageous because breeding earlier increases the likelihood that pairs will raise a second brood, but further study is needed. Territories are shorter in winter as altitudinal migrants from upland streams increase population density on rivers, but this may also reflect seasonal changes in nutritional and energetic demands.     

Is 24-hour energy intake greater during night shift compared to non-night shift patterns? A systematic review

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Epidemiological studies show that shift workers are at increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, metabolic dysfunction, diabetes, and obesity. Previous research has shown no difference in energy intake between night and day shifts only; however, it remains unclear whether other non-night shift patterns are different to night shift.

Objectives: We investigated whether energy intake of night-shift workers differed from other shift patterns using calorimetry, food diary or food recall over 24-hour periods.

Methods: A systematic review was conducted searching CINAHL, MEDLINE, Web of Science, Embase and PsycINFO databases for observational and interventional studies measuring energy intake in real or simulated shift work. Energy intake was extracted to compare night, day, afternoon/evening and rotating shift work cases.

Results: After duplicate removal, we screened 1057 abstracts and 68 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility of which 15 studies met the inclusion criteria. All studies were cross-sectional and case–control designs in shift workers. Risk of bias assessment showed a low to moderate risk of bias in the majority of studies. There was no difference in energy intake between night-shift work and non-night shift patterns including early morning, day and afternoon/evening shifts. Night-shift workers did not favor particular macronutrients in comparison to other shift schedules.

Conclusions: Energy and macronutrient intake were not detectably different in night shift compared to other shift patterns. Shift work patterns were heterogeneous which likely impacted on dietary assessment timings and computation of 24-h energy intake. Future studies should examine shift schedules with precise circadian timing of food consumption to determine if differences exist in energy and macronutrient intake between different shift patterns.     

Morphological relationships of passerine birds from Australia and New Guinea in relation to their diets

Beak, wing, leg and intestinal lengths, and gizzard widths, were all significantly related to body mass in 51 honeyeater species from Australia, 48 honeyeater species from New Guinea and 31 purely insectivorous passerine bird species from Australia. The nectar-feeding honeyeaters had smaller gizzards and intestines than wholly insectivorous birds of comparable size, although their wing and leg lengths did not differ; New Guinean and Australian honeyeaters were similar in these respects. Overall, honeyeaters had longer beaks than pure insectivores. Among Australian honeyeaters, those genera consuming more nectar than insects had longer beaks than the less nectarivorous, more insectivorous genera. Indeed, the latter group had beaks comparable in length to wholly insectivorous birds. All morphological differences revealed were attributable to known differences in diet.     

Conquering the night: understanding nocturnal migration in birds

Abstract

Migration is a biologically distinct and unique phenomenon that enables the birds to migrate twice-a-year between the breeding and wintering grounds. These movements are known as spring and autumn migration, respectively. Depending on their inherent programming, the migratory birds may fly during day or night or both. Different environmental factors such as, temperature, food, predator pressure and physiological demands of energy storage and expenditure, contribute to the pattern of migrations, day or nighttime. Since, most of them are nighttime migrants they have to make dramatic changes in their physiology and behavior to transform them from being diurnal to predominantly nocturnal. These changes result in different life history stages (LHSs) such as migration, reproduction and molt, in their annual cycle, which are regulated by endogenous circadian and circannual clocks. As a result, the birds start preparing well in advance for the approaching LHS. The present review focuses on behavioral strategies of a nocturnal migrant and understanding of the possible physiological responses to ensure successful migration.     

The Origin of Winter Visitors to the British Isles 7. Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris)

Capsule Large‐scale intensification of agricultural management during the past 50 years has resulted in a reduction of invertebrate abundance and higher and denser ground vegetation. Food availability for insectivorous birds foraging on the ground has been negatively affected, but the interactions between birds and their food availability are complex and often species‐specific. Populations of Wrynecks Jynx torquilla are declining all over Europe, possibly because of reduced accessibility to their main prey, ground‐dwelling ants, due to higher and denser ground vegetation. However, it is not clear which ground vegetation structures are tolerated by foraging Wrynecks and which habitats are preferred.

Aims To identify the optimal ground vegetation structure and the main habitat types in which Wrynecks search for food.

Method We radiotracked seven Wrynecks in high‐intensity farmland in Switzerland to study foraging habitat use during the reproduction season. Several habitat variables were mapped at each foraging location and compared with locations selected randomly within individual home ranges.

Results Wrynecks preferentially foraged at places with ≥50% bare ground. Vegetation height was not important. Older fruit tree plantations and fallow land were the preferred foraging habitats.

Conclusion Conservation measures should concentrate on preserving semi‐open agricultural landscape matrices with loose ground vegetation cover to provide suitable foraging conditions. This can be achieved even in intensively managed farmland as illustrated in this study.     

Differential time allocation of foraging workers in the subterranean termite

Background

Worker reproduction has an important influence on the social cohesion and efficiency of social insect colonies, but its role in the success of invasive ants has been neglected. We used observations of 233 captive colonies, laboratory experiments, and genetic analyses to investigate the conditions for worker reproduction in the invasive Anoplolepis gracilipes (yellow crazy ant) and its potential cost on interspecific defence. We determined the prevalence of worker production of males and whether it is triggered by queen absence; whether physogastric workers with enlarged abdomens are more likely to be reproductive, how normal workers and physogastric workers compare in their contributions to foraging and defence; and whether worker-produced males and males that could have been queen- or worker-produced differ in their size and heterozygosity.

Results

Sixty-six of our 233 captive colonies produced males, and in 25 of these, some males could only have been produced by workers. Colonies with more workers were more likely to produce males, especially for queenless colonies. The average number of days between the first appearance of eggs and adult males in our colonies was 54.1 ± 10.2 (mean ± SD, n = 20). In our laboratory experiment, queen removal triggered an increase in the proportion of physogastric workers. Physogastric workers were more likely to have yolky oocytes (37–54.9%) than normal workers (2–25.6%), which is an indicator of fertile or trophic egg production. Physogastric workers were less aggressive during interspecific aggression tests and foraged less than normal workers. The head width and wing length of worker-produced males were on average 4.0 and 4.3% greater respectively than those of males of undetermined source. Our microsatellite DNA analyses indicate that 5.5% of worker-produced males and 14.3% of males of undetermined source were heterozygous, which suggests the presence of diploid males and/or genetic mosaics in A. gracilipes.

Conclusions

Our experimental work provides crucial information on worker reproduction in A. gracilipes and its potential cost to colony defence. The ability of A. gracilipes workers to produce males in the absence of queens may also contribute to its success as an invasive species if intranidal mating can take place between virgin queens and worker-produced males.

     

Scottish-breeding Greenshanks Tringa nebularia do not migrate far

ABSTRACT

Capsule: Scottish-breeding Greenshanks Tringa nebularia migrate largely to Ireland.

Aims: To describe the migration timings and determine the non-breeding areas (staging and wintering areas) of Scottish-breeding Greenshanks.

Methods: Breeding adult Greenshanks were marked with geolocators and/or unique permutations of colour-rings in Sutherland, northern Scotland. Sightings of the colour-ringed birds and data from geolocators on recaptured birds provided information on the migrations and locations of the non-breeding areas.

Results: Scottish-breeding Greenshanks spent the winter mainly in Ireland, with the range also including Wales, southern England and western France. Departure from the breeding grounds, as determined by the geolocators, took place in June and July; the median date for the last day in the breeding area was 16 July. Arrival on the breeding grounds took place in March and April; the median date for the first day back in the breeding area was 7 April. Some birds fed at an estuary close to their territories prior to breeding. There was fidelity to wintering areas, both within and between years. Short-term staging took place during both the southward and northward migrations for some birds, and one bird used the same staging area in different autumns. Members of one pair had separate wintering areas.

Conclusions: Scottish-breeding Greenshanks have a short migration, largely to the coasts of Ireland. The migrations involved short-term staging for some birds.     

Biological monitoring of exposure to low concentrations of benzene in workers at a metallurgical coke production plant: new insights into S-phenylmercapturic acid and urinary benzene

Context: Urinary S-phenylmercapturic acid (SPMA) and benzene (U-Ben) are usually measured at the end of the work shift (ES), although their kinetic of elimination is not clearly known.

Objective: To investigate SPMA and U-Ben elimination 16?h after the ES, in 93 coke production workers exposed to low benzene concentrations.

Materials and methods: Airborne benzene (A-Ben) was measured by passive samplings, while SPMA, U-Ben, methyl-tert-butyl ether (U-MTBE), cotinine (U-Cot) and creatinine were determined on urine samples collected at ES and before the beginning of the next work shift (next BS).

Results: Median A-Ben concentrations were 17.2?µg/m³ in the personal and 34.7?µg/m³ in the stationary samplings. SPMA was always detectable, whereas U-Ben was below the limit of quantification in 26.7% of the ES and 35.6% of the next BS samples, and U-MTBE in more than the 80.0% of the samples. At both the sampling times, SPMA and U-Ben showed a positive dependence on personal A-Ben, as well as on creatinine and U-Cot values.

Discussion and conclusion: SPMA and U-Ben at the next BS were dependent on the exposure to low benzene concentrations suffered in the previous work shift, prompting a reconsideration of the urine sampling time recommended by the American Conference Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH).     

Self‐selection of photoperiod as a technique for studying endogenous rhythms in fish

Abstract

Drawing on work with passerine birds, investigations on the self‐selection of photoperiod in a constant environment by pumpkinseed sunfish (Lepomis gibbosus) capable of controlling their lighting have been carried out. Each aquarium with lighting equipment was set up in a separate, light‐tight compartment in a quiet, constant‐temperature room. Under one treatment, an overhead fluorescent light could be turned on and off by breaking a photobeam. Under two further treatments, breaking the photobeam turned the light on for three minutes. Fish were fed daily at a regular hour. The latter two treatments, but not the first, resulted in data containing diurnal rhythmic components as analyzed by autocorrelation techniques. The results are discussed in the context of different methods of measuring “internal clock” mechanisms.     

Ecomorphological patterns in the Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla: insular versus mainland populations

Capsule Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla populations from the Azores archipelago show morphological differences to continental birds which are consistent with the ‘Island Rule’.

Aims The morphology of insular vertebrates is usually the result of the evolution in their particular environment and leads to predictable morphological patterns, according to the Island Rule. We test the predictions of the Island Rule, using the Blackcap of the Azores archipelago as our model.

Methods We compared morphological variation (body size and wing shape) of populations from the nine islands of the Azores to continental birds, using multivariate indexes. Also, we looked at the relationship between these patterns and possible insular ecological drivers of morphological divergence.

Results Our findings are concordant with Island Rule predictions, as in general birds from the Azores are larger than continental populations, especially birds from the most distant islands. Wing shape also differs significantly, as Azorean Blackcaps tend to have rounder wings than continental birds with a migratory-like phenotype.

Conclusion Overall, we conclude that the observed morphological patterns in Blackcap in the Azores conform in general to the Island Rule predictions.     

Comparison of land cover and farming intensity-based models for mapping High Nature Value farmland in Cyprus

ABSTRACT

Capsule: Breeding bird survey data were used to compare biodiversity at sites defined as High Nature Value farmland (HNVf) under two different mapping models.

Aims: To examine whether farmland classified as HNVf was important for bird diversity and conservation of priority bird species in Cyprus, through comparison of two different HNVf maps. The HNV concept aims to define biodiversity-rich farmland and facilitate its protection and management. Heterogeneous, low-intensity cropping and grazing systems are important areas for biodiversity conservation in Europe and for birds in particular, but are threatened by abandonment and agricultural intensification. We compared two HNVf mapping systems, a simpler model based on land cover data (CLC map) and a more complex Cyprus Environment Department model (ED map) including layers relating to agricultural intensity.

Methods: Line transect bird surveys were carried out to compare bird diversity, abundance of farmland bird species of conservation priority and also of the endemic Cyprus Warbler Sylvia melanothorax, at sites classified as HNV or not.

Results: A greater diversity of breeding birds was found in sites classified as HNVf under combined ED and CLC maps. However, for the set of 12 priority bird species, neither HNV mapping approach encompassed their overall abundance, but a combined CLC and ED model did predict higher abundances of the Cyprus Warbler. Vineyard sites were found to be associated with high overall breeding bird diversity, but with low abundance of priority bird species.

Conclusion: We identified weaknesses in both mapping systems, with the ED model failing to capture all HNV grazing land and the CLC model defining some intensive farming systems as HNV. We conclude that the overlap between the two models best captures HNVf, but layers encompassing grazing land and priority habitats need to be added to better define HNVf in Cyprus and facilitate its protection and management.     

Foraging Blue Tits Parus caeruleus may trade-off calorific value of food items and distance from cover

Capsule Flowers of an invasive plant species are more visited by native birds than flowers of ornithophilous endemic plants.

Aims To describe the bird guild and its behaviour visiting the century plant Agave americana in an insular environment and to determine which factors are affecting visitation rates.

Methods We noted number and species of birds visiting inflorescences on Tenerife, Canary Islands. We used multimodel inference of generalized linear models to analyse the factors affecting the number of visits and the visitor species richness.

Results Eighty-one per cent of inflorescences were visited by eight native bird species. All species fed on nectar and only the Atlantic Canary fed also on pollen. Foraging behaviour varied among species. Visitation rate increased with density and diversity of birds and flower characteristics and decreased through the day. The number of species visiting the inflorescences increased with diversity and density of birds in the surroundings and decreased through the day.

Conclusion The native bird community uses the invasive century plant as a feeding resource at a higher rate than it uses endemic ornithophilous plants. This could have negative effects for the pollination of endemic plants, but positive effects for birds.