Aviculture of the Honeycreepers

Abstract

The honeycreepers, sometimes called sugarbirds, are a heterogeneous group of birds from South America that have been known to bird fanciers for a long time. These beautiful, gracious birds have been somewhat overlooked in the last 40 years by aviculturists. The purpose of this article is to remind the modern bird lover of the existence of these birds, and of their potential as aviculrural subjects.

In this article I will not attempt to cover the very distinct aggregate of the Hawaiian honeycreepers (Drepanididae) that constitute a separate group. The biology of these birds, some of which are extinct, and all the living species endangered, is covered in a comprehensive article elsewhere! However, the information that I will present in this article can be of use in the management, husbandry and establishment of other small nectar-eaters with biology similar to the South American honeycreepers, namely the sunbirds from the Old World (Nectariniidae), the small honeyeaters from Australia (family Meliphagidae, genera Myzornela and Certhionix), the White-Eyes (Zosteropidae) and, possibly, some of the hummingbirds (Trochilidae). It can also be of relevance for species that are slightly more insectivorous or frugivorous than the honeycreepers, such as the Spiderhunters (genus Ara ch n othera), and the Asiatic flowerpeckers (Dicaeidae) and South American flower-piercers (genus Diglossa), respectively.

Ornithology of the

South American Honeycreepers

The South American honeycreepers comprise a small group of bird families that live primarily in the rainforest. The ones important for aviculture are the Cyanerpes, Chiarophanes, Coereba and some of the Dacnis. Dunning also includes in the honeycreeper group the families Oreomanes and Conirostrurn (Conebills), and Diglossa (Flowerpiercersj] but I will not cover these in this article. Honeycreepers belong to the Passerinae, and are not genealogically related to the hummingbirds, although they exhibit some of the same feeding habits. In order to understand the principles on which the management of these birds is based, it is important to take into consideration their biology and evolutionary origin.

The honeycreepers are a specialized group of tanagers. Studies of comparative anatomy have demonstrated that the honeycreepers derive from the Calliste Tanager group (Tangara), and have specialized in feeding on nectar and small insects that they gather from flowers? Their diet progressed from fruit and insects first to mainly nectar. Consequently, the bills of these birds have become thinner and more specialized for probing into flowers. Figure 1 shows the derivation of three species of honeycreepers culminating in the Purple Honeycreeper, that has the most differentiated beak of the group. Thus the White-Bellied Dacnis (Dacnis albiventris) has evolved into the Blue Dacnis (Dacnis cayana) and finally into the Green Honey creeper (Chlorophanes spiza); the Blue-and-black Tanager (Tangara vassorii) into the Rednecked Tanager (Tangara cyanocoephala) and the Red-legged Honeycreeper (Cyanerpes cyaneus); and the Swallow Tanager (Tersina viridis) into the Yellow-collared Honeycreeper (Iridophanes pulcherrima), and the Purple Honeycreeper (Cyanerpes caer ule us It Other scientific data also supporting the view that honeycreepers evolved from the tanagers include similarities of structure, color and pattern of the plumage, and similarity in the jaw muscles and horny palate between the two groupsz We will analyze later the avicultural implications of these facts about the evolutionary derivation and family ties of the honeycreepers.