[TN-Bird] Re: Tennessee Humming-warbler
- From: "Wallace Coffey" <jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 9 Nov 2004 09:55:39 -0500
Dev Joslin:
The Tennessee Warbler is a pro at flower-feeding along the Gulf Coast of the
US in spring, although we don't know how much nectar vs. bugs it gets from
Honey Locusts. Cape May Warbler is a well-known flower feeder there -- best
place to look for them in spring is in Honey Locust flowers. Its
disproportionately long
and curved (very slightly) bill is interpreted by ornithologists as a winter
flower-probing adaptation.
At Gulf Coast hummingbird feeders in the southern United States,
Orange-crowned Warbler is a regular winter visitor, and Prothonotary
Warblers comes fairly frequently, at least in early spring.
They may flower-feed some as they migrate further north in spring and we
just don't notice them in tree canopy feeding situations. Not many of our
birders spend lots of time observing the feeding habits of migrant warblers.
For that matter, we don't look at as many as we listen to. :-)
Let's go birding....
Wallace Coffey
Bristol, TN
----- Original Message -----
From: "Dev Joslin"
Sent: Sunday, November 07, 2004 10:11 AM
Subject: [TN-Bird] Tennessee Humming-warbler
> Yesterday I watched a Tennessee Warbler meticulously going from flower to
> flower in a tree by our house here in Costa Rica (locals call it a guititi
> tree). The bird was clearly getting nectar from the flowers and almost
> humorously (to me), it was doing it alongside a hummingbird.
>
> I had never seen or known that Tennessee Warblers got nectar from flowers.
> (Has anyone ever seen one at a hummingbird feeder?). I have never
observed
> it during spring or fall migration.
>
> However, Alexander Skutch and Gary Stiles (in a Guide to the Birds of
Costa
> Rica) describe the Tenn. Warbler as one who "visits flowers of many sorts
> for nectar (sometimes individuals defend flowers for short periods)." Out
> of 52 other warblers described in Skutch and Stiles, 5 are noted to feed
on
> nectar (Orange-crowned, Nashville, Cape May, Black-throated Blue,
> Bay-breasted).
>
> Has anyone else observed this behavior in any of these warbler species or
am
> I just out of it? Does anyone know if this behavior is primarily limited
to
> wintering in the tropics? Don't know why it should be, but I haven't
> observed any of these species on their breeding grounds.
>
> Dev Joslin
> Monteverde, Costa Rica
>
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
TN-Bird Net is owned by the Tennessee Ornithological Society
Neither the society(TOS) nor its moderator(s)
endorse the views or opinions expressed
by the members of this discussion group.
Moderator: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN
wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society
web site at http://www.tnbirds.org
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp
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