Aviculture of the Honeycreepers by Ubaldo Leli, M.D. Boston, Massachusetts Yellow-legged Honeycreeper (Cyanerpes cyaneus). Male (from the authorJs collection, photo Bourque). c: o CJ) Cl. E o r. ~ Red-legged ci Honeycreepe1~ (1) (ij female. o Q) 0> -0o Co o Q) ci [5 (1) co o0> > (1) .c>­ (!) o >­ .L:) o o .r: (5 a. r. Cl.. Red-legged Honeyc1'eepe1~ male. Red-leggedHoneycreeper, male. G1'een-legged Honeycreepe1~ male. 8 October / November 1991 The honeycreepers, sometimes called sugarbirds, are a heteroge­ neous group of birds from South America that have been known to bird fanciers for a long time. These NORSHORE PETS beautiful, gracious birds have been A collection of the finest somewhat overlooked in the last 40 supplies available for your birds. years by aviculturists. The purpose of this article is to remind the modern "Chatter" bird lover of the existence of these one ofour five petcockatiels birds, and of their potential as avicul­ tural subjects. KELLOGG'S: Petamine/ Budgimine. Song Food. Seedies. plus other mixes. In this article I will not attempt to cover the very distinct aggregate of KELLOGG'S pelleted cage bird food. the Hawaiian honeycreepers (Drepa­ Tweats and Hand Feeding Formula. nididae) that constitute a separate SILVER SONG'S fortified diets for all cage group. The biology of these birds, birds. plus Mineralite Grit. some ofwhich are extinct, and all the liVing species endangered, is covered Lafeber. Nekton. Rich Health. Hoei. Prevue/ Hendryx. Fritz. Super Pet. Lustar. in a comprehensive article else­ Duro-lite. Mardel. Nextto Nature where! However, the information that I will present in this article can Books. Nets. Feeders. Stands. Cages be of use in the management, hus­ • Seeds. Nest boxes. Vitamins bandry and establishment of other CATALOG $3.00. small nectar-eaters with biology refundable with first order similar to the South American honey­ Pick up or shipped U.P.S. creepers, namely the sunbirds from the Old World (Nectariniidae), the Rt. 1, Box 100, Coloma, WI 54930 HOURS: small honeyeaters from Australia Mon.- Fri. 8 - 4 (family Meliphagidae, genera 1(800) 245-6732 • (715) 228-4040 Sat. 9 - noon Myzomela and Certhionix), the Central Time 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 Judge us by the company we keep Spiderhunters (genus Arachno­ thera), and the Asiatic flowerpeckers (Dicaeidae) and South American flower-piercers (genus Diglossa), respectively. Ornithologyofthe SouthAmerican Honeycreepers The South American honeycreep­ ers comprise a small group of bird families that live primarily in the rainforest. The ones important for aviculture are the Cyanerpes, Chloro­ phanes, Coereba and some of the Dacnis. Dunning also includes in the honeycreeper group the families USDA • u.s. Center for Disease Control • Mayo Clinic • Saudi Royal Family Oreomanes and Conirost1-um (Cone­ Sloan-Kettering Institute • Walt Disney World • Busch Gardens • Opryland bills), and Diglossa (Flowerpiercers); Six Flags • Lion Country Safari • U.S. Army • U.S. Air Force • VA Hospitals but I will not cover these in this arti­ Countless Zoos • Universities and Game Preserves throughout the Free World cle. Honeycreepers belong to the Passerinae, and are not genealogi­ Write for our free catalog! cally related to the hummingbirds, although they exhibit some of the same feeding habits. In order to The Humidaire Incubator Company understand the principles on which Department W, 217 West Wayne Street, New Madison, Ohio 45346 the management of these birds is based, it is important to take into (513) 996-3001 • FAX (513) 996-3633 consideration their biology and evo­ lutionary origin. Serving the world for 60 years The honeycreepers are a special- afa WATCHBIRD 9 ized group of tanagers. Studies of viridis) into the Yellow-collared comparative anatomy have demon­ Honeycreeper (Iridophanespulcher­ strated that the honeycreepers derive rima), and the Purple Honeycreeper from the Calliste Tanager group (Cyanerpes caeruleusY Other 1991 COMMITTEES (Tangara), and have specialized in scientific data also supporting the AVIAN RESEARCH feeding on nectar and small insects view that honeycreepers evolved William Sager, D.V.M. (508) 486-3101 that they gather from flowers~ Their from the tanagers include similarities AVIAN CLEARING HOUSE diet progressed from fruit and insects of structure, color and pattern of the Morgan Knox (407) 892-0643 first to mainly nectar. Consequently, plumage, and similarity in the jaw Denise Cabral (508) 586-3293 the bills of these birds have become muscles and horny palate between AFA IN BRIEF (monthly newsletter) groups~ Gary Clifton (602) 946-1304 thinner and more specialized for the two We will analyze later probing into flowers. Figure 1 shows the avicultural implications of these ANTI-SMUGGLING Daniel Gonzalez, Jr. (513) 399-6464 the derivation of three species of facts about the evolutionary deriva­ AVYAWARDS honeycreepers culminating in the tion and family ties of the honey­ Dale Thompson (805) 252-4871 Purple Honeycreeper, that has the creepers. CITES most differentiated beak of the As I mentioned before, the genera Jonathan Fink (602) 968-4869 group. Thus the White-Bellied Dacnis of honeycreepers important in avi­ CONSERVATION (Dacnis albiventris) has evolved culture are Cyanerpes, Chloro­ Kevin Gorman (716) 865-6414 phanes and Dacnis. Members of Gail Worth (213) 541-1180 into the Blue Dacnis (Dacnis cay­ ana) and finally into the Green these families are now regularly avail­ CONVENTION - 1991 Jeri Wright (206) 838-9802 Honey creeper (Chlorophanes able from importers, but need to be the Blue-and-black Tanager established in captivity. As I will CONVENTION 1992 spiza); Morgan Knox (407) 892-0643 (Tangara vassorii) into the Red­ describe later in the section of this EDUCATION AND MEDIA SERVICES necked Tanager (Tangara cyano­ article dealing with the aviculture of Kayla Snyder (215) 855-4463 coephala) and the Red-legged Honey­ the honeycreepers, these birds are ETHICS creeper (Cyanerpes cyaneus); and considerably simpler to deal with AFA Business Office (602) 484-0931 the Swallow Tanager (Tersina than hummingbirds. Considering FINANCE Vicki Fletcher (206) 841-2705 LEGAL COUNSEL Gary Lilienthal (617) 345-0770 LEGISLATION ~~ Janet Lilienthal (617) 345-0770 ~~ ~- ",,", MEMBERSHIP PROMOTION Richard Bewley (918) 369-2580 B NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS .---- Debbie Clifton (602) 946-1304 .' Diana McNabb (407) 892-0643 PARLIMENTARIAN ~ ~ Gary Clifton (602) 946-1304 1:: PROFESSIONAL STAN DARDS Laurella Desborough (415) 372-6174 I I. PUBLIC RELATIONS ~ ~. ~ PUBLICATIONS M. Jean Hessler (714) 548-3133 0 ¥ .---- FAX (714) 548-0420 SPEAKERS Nancy Vigran (818) 980-4694 ~ «---- SPEAKERS DIRECTORY '---... -------...- Linda Sun (714) 688-4907 Chuck Saffell (813) 722-0997 =f--. SPECIAL ADVISOR Gary Lilienthal (617) 345-0770 ~ CWGBT SPECIAL COMMITTEE ~ ~ Gary Lilienthal (617) 345-0770 WAYS AND MEANS • Alister B. McNabney (415) 945-1785 =Z ~ BUSINESS OFFICE Davis Koffron, director {602l484-0931 ...----. "-- Sue Jordan, office mgr. 602 484-0931 <= I em FAX 602 484-0109 Figure 1 WATCH BIRD STAFF Derivation of Honeycreepers from Tanagers (From3). Comparison of the beaks shows a Jack Clinton-Eitniear/Editor (512 828-5306 progressive specialization in feeding habits towards a more nectar-oriented diet. A: Jerry Jennings/Editor (619 728-2226 Dale Thompson/Editor 805 252-4871 Swallow Tanager (Tersinia viridis); B: Yellow-collared Honeycreeper (/ridophanes M. Jean Hessler/ . FAX 714 548-0420 pUlcherrima); C: Yellow-legged Honeycreeper (Cyanerpes caeruleus); D: Blue-and­ Art Director ProductIon 714 548-3133 black Tanager (Tangara vassorii); E: Red-necked Tanager (Tangara cyanocepha/a); F: Sue Jordan/Advertising 602 484-0931 FAX 602 484-0109 Red-legged Honeycreeper (Cyanerpes cyaneus); G: White-bellied Dacnis (Dacnis albi­ ventris); H: Blue Dacnis (Dacnis cayana); I: Green Honeycreeper (Chlorophanes spiza). 10 October/ November 1991 their particular beauty, I hope that recently offered for sale more often. unlikely. they will soon become the focus of Although some of the species are I will only describe in detail the interest of advanced bird fanciers locally rare but none of them is Red-, the Yellow-legged and the specializing in small softbills. endangered, a renewed interest of Green Honeycreepers. A motivated A briefdescription ofthe character­ aviculturists for the honeycreepers aviculturist that has in hand a bird of istics of the 16 species of honey­ could result in increased availability uncertain identification should con­ creepers from South America is given of these birds from the importers, sult the Dunning's book on identifica­ in Table 1. Their diffusion and abun­ and would permit more focussed tion ofSouth American Birds~ dance determines the availability of attempts to establish them in captiv­ The beautiful Yellow-legged and birds for importation. The Red- and ity for the benefit of future avicultur­ the Red-legged Honeycreepers are the Yellow-legged Honeycreepers ists and for the protection ofthe spe­ very similar in size and shape. They (Cyanerpes cyaneus and caeru­ cies themselves, in case offuture loss are stocky little birds with a short tail, laeus, respectively), the Green of habitat - a possibility not at all of about 4.5 inches in total length. Honey creeper (Chlorophanes spiza), the Blue, Yellow-bellied and Black-faced Dacnis (Dacnis cayana, q.lf\U'C<9+