Abstract
Intestinal sucrase and maltase activities were measured in three species of hummingbirds and 11 species of passerine birds from western Mexico. Maximal sucrase activity standardized by nominal area of intestine was 2-118 times higher in hummingbirds than in the nine species of passerines that showed significant sucrase activity. Two species of passerines (Turdus rufopalliatus and Catharus aurantiirostris) lacked significant sucrase activity. Lack of functional sucrase activity has been reported in five species of passerine birds restricted to three closely related families (Muscicapidae, Sturnidae, and Mimidae). Interspecific variation in sucrase activity is probably influenced both by feeding habits and phylogenetic affinities. No allometric relation between sucrose hydrolysis capacity and body mass was found. When the two species with no significant sucrase activity were deleted from the sample, maltose hydrolytic capacity and body mass were allometrically related (exponent = 0.65). Maltase and sucrase ...
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