The ecological organization of hummingbirds in the Chisos Mountains, Big Bend National Park, Texas
Kuban JF and Neill RL. 1978. The ecological organization of hummingbirds in the Chisos Mountains, Big Bend National Park, Texas. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America. 59(2):124
The ecological strategies of five species of hummingbirds were examined during two consecutive summers (1975-1976) in the Chisos Mountains. The Black-chinned Hummingbird (Archilochus alexandri) and the Lucifer Hummingbird (Calothorax lucifer) occurred together in the Sotol Grassland (1400 m) with a high degree of niche overlap. When dominant Archilochus populations were reduced Calothorax became established by using a traplining feeding strategy while favoring a densely vegetated microhabitat. The Blue-throated Hummingbird (Lampornis clemenciae) was territorial about mountain streams in the Cypress-Pine-Oak Association where they were insectivorous until mid July when Blue-throats supplemented their diet with Salvia nectar. The Broad-tailed Hummingbird (Selasphorus platycercus and the Rufous Hummingbird (S. rufus) commonly occurred in the Pinyon-Juniper-Oak Woodland. Ecological separation appears to be maintained temporally with S. platycercus common only prior to the full flowering of Salvia whereas S. rufus numbers increased during peak flowering of Salvia.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Kuban, Joseph; Neill, Robert
- Units
- BIBE
- Keywords
- Animal Behavior, Animal Studies, Big Bend National Park, black-chinned hummingbird (Archilochus alexandri) - Trochilidae, blue-throated hummingbird (Lampornis clemenciae) - Trochilidae, broad-tailed hummingbird (Selasphorus platycercus) - Trochilidae, Chisos Mountains, Competition (Species), Food, hummingbirds (Trochilidae), Lucifer hummingbird (Calothorax lucifer) - Trochilidae, rufous hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus) - Trochilidae, TX