The green honeycreeper is a very attractive small species of tanager in the bird family Thraupidae. This bird is common and conspicuous over its range from southern Mexico to southeastern Brazil. It feeds largely on nectar, fruit, and insects, and often frequents feeders supplying fruit. Its plumage is strikingly sexually dimorphic, females being grass green, […]
Tag: honeycreeper
Brazil Day #8 – Wet Hummers
Yesterday was a very wet day. It was bucketing down all day long, which hampered our birding efforts. We found shelter at Jonas feeding station, which was rather overwhelming despite the ‘low’ season and torrential rain. Jonas operates this feeding station at industrial scale – hummers use 10-20 liters of sugar water every day! Jonas […]
Brazil Ubatuba Day #7 – Tanagers Galore
Today’s birding in the Atlantic Forest of Ubatuba was really about brilliance. We could not have our breakfast quietly, nor leave the lodge on time, because of tanager et al. action on the bananas. Green-headed Tanager is truly spectacular Brazilian Tanager is so brilliant red it hurts the eye Blue Dacnis are uber-pretty too. Here’s […]
One to Watch – Iiwi on the decline?
With its unmistakable fiery red plumage, which was used to decorate the robes worn by Hawaiian royalty in ancient times, the Iiwi Depranis coccinea (pronounced ee-EE-vee), or Scarlet Honeycreeper, is tightly entwined with Hawaiian folklore. Endemic to the islands, it was once abundant in forests through-out the archipelago, but the accidental introduction of mosquitoes by […]
Hawaiian honeycreeper birds at risk of extinction from avian malaria
In the rugged mountain forests of Kaua’i, colorful birds called honeycreepers are dying out. Usually protected by the cooler temperatures found at higher altitudes, the birds are now victims of malaria-carrying mosquitoes that have crept upward as temperatures rise. Honeycreeper populations declined an average of 68 percent in the core of their preferred range on […]
Costa Rica, a Holiday with Nature, Part 3 of 3
The Arenal Observatory Lodge has several feeders to attract birds and they did their job. I was able to photograph honeycreepers, tanagers, oropendola, woodpeckers and more. The bird feeders also attracted White-nosed Coatis which fed on the scraps. These bold creatures would walk right into the restaurant if given a chance. There is an extensive […]