Cardoso Vasconcellos, N., Freitas, L. 2007. Floral resources for hummingbirds in the arboretum of the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden, Brazil Davidsonia 18(1):3-16

Floral rewards for hummingbirds were studied in the arboretum of the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden. Twenty nine species were visited and between eight and nineteen species flowered each month, with a greater occurrence of species flowering during the austral winter, contrasting with the pattern of adjacent forest areas. Seventeen species (59%) were from America, mostly from South or South and Central America (thirteen species), and remaining species were from Central and/or North America. Most plant species fit into the hummingbird pollination syndrome and seven out of the twelve species from other continents fit into the perching-bird pollination syndrome, indicating that hummingbirds prefer flowers supposedly adapted to birds. Four species of hummingbirds were observed visiting flowers and two others were registered in the arboretum, representing less than half of the species registered in the forests of the region. The only resident species of the arboretum, Thalurania glaucopis Gmelim visited most species, exhibited territorial behaviour and was by far the most common species. Although the floral resources of the arboretum seemed to support the individuals of T. glaucopsis and could function as an additional resource for the hummingbirds from the adjacent forests, a higher diversity of both floral resources and micro-sites are recommended to make the arboretum and equivalent areas more hummingbird-friendly.