The Saw-billed HermitRamphodon naevius and its flowers in southeastern Brazil

Abstract

The large Saw-billed HermitRamphodon naevius and its foraging behaviour on a variety of ornithophilous flowers were studied at one site in the Atlantic rainforest in southeastern Brazil. The flower assemblage visited by this endemic hermit throughout the year is composed mainly by epiphytes and herbs, Bromeliaceae and Heliconiaceae being the staple foodplants. Most of the plant species present steady-state, long-tubed and high-reward flowers, and bloom sequentially. The Saw-billed Hermit is a year-round resident and traplining forager, behaves aggressively over its feeding routes, and excludes conspecifics and other hummingbird species from its main flower sources. This large hermit regularly visited and pollinated about 45 % of the native ornithophilous plants at the study site, thus acting as the major pollinator on this flower assemblage.