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Supplementary feeding of birds may have considerable ecological and evolutionary effects on bird communities. However, there is a lack of basic information on the prevalence, frequency and quality of supplementary feeders, especially in African urban areas. Here we describe the prevalence, reliability and quality of artificial nectar feeders in suburbs in the Cape Floristic Region, South Africa, where many bird-pollinated plant species occur. Results from 291 questionnaires, completed by garden owners with an interest in birds, reveal that 57% of respondents have feeders in their gardens and 51% refill their feeders multiple times per week. The sugar concentration, total duration of feeding and frequency of feeding did not affect abundances or species richness of nectarivorous birds in gardens. We found a higher incidence of breeding sunbirds and sugarbirds in gardens with feeders than gardens without. Supplementary nectar feeding in this area has the potential to contribute to conserving nectarivorous birds, but investigation into the possible negative effects is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carnivorous pitcher plants capture insect prey to acquire essential nutrients while growing on extremely poor soils. A few individual species have evolved mutualistic relationships with small mammals that visit the traps to harvest nectar, and in return leave faecal droppings in the pitchers. Here we report that a diverse guild of nectar-harvesting vertebrates visits pitchers of two common lowlandNepenthesspecies without providing any obvious benefit for the plants. Over four consecutive field seasons, we observed four species of sunbirds and one species of tree shrew drinking nectar from pitcher plants. Foraging activity was highest in the morning and late afternoon. Van Hasselt’s, Brown-throated and olive-backed sunbirds were regular and highly abundant pitcher visitors in two different field sites. A crimson sunbird and a lesser tree shrew were each observed harvesting nectar on one occasion. The vertebrates harvested nectar from the pitcher rim (peristome) ofN. rafflesianaand from the underside of the pitcher lid ofN. gracilis. A comparison of the nectar production of these and three further sympatric species revealed exceptionally high quantities of nectar forN. rafflesiana. Other factors such as plant and pitcher abundance and the habitat preferences of the observed vertebrates are likely to also play a role in their choice to visit particular species. This is the first account of a case of obvious nectar robbing fromNepenthespitchers by a guild of species that are too large to serve as prey, while the pitcher size and shape prevent faecal droppings from reaching the pitcher’s inside. This interaction provides an example of a possible starting point for the evolution of the elaborate mutualistic relationships observed in some species. Follow-up adaptations of pitcher shape could enable the plants to catch the droppings of their visitors and turn an exploitative relationship into a mutualism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe the nest of the endemic Whitehead's Spiderhunter ( Arachnothera juliae) from Mt. Mulu National Park, Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo, and compare it to those of the most closely related species, the Yellow-eared Spiderhunter ( A. chrysogenys) and the Naked-faced Spiderhunter ( A. clarae). The nest was found on 3 August 2014 in lower montane forest at 1,400 m elevation along the summit trail on the western slopes of Mt. Mulu. It consisted of a bowl lined with fine bark material inside a naturally occurring hanging ball of moss 19 m above the ground in a large tree. It contained no eggs, but the pair was observed carrying in nest materials on several occasions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The abundance of consumers and the availability of resources are often linked, and birds are known to track food resources at a variety of spatial and temporal scales. This study describes the seasonal influx of nectar-feeding birds during flowering in a 51-ha stand of Aloe ferox in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, over 5 years (2008-09 and 2011-13). Bimonthly point counts of birds were conducted before (April-May), during (June-July) and after (August) flowering, which occurs during the austral winter. The abundance of nectar-feeding birds increased significantly during flowering each year, whereas monthly abundances of non-nectarivores were unrelated to flowering. Models fitted to bird count-data revealed a significant interaction between feeding guild (nectarivorous versus non-nectarivorous species) and the percentage of flowering A. ferox over the 5 years of the study, confirming that these guilds responded differently to flowering events. Malachite Sunbirds (Nectarina famosa), which are specialist nectarivores, responded consistently to flowering of A. ferox each year, despite the low sugar concentrations of A. ferox nectar. The arrival of nectar-feeding birds en masse during flowering, and the number of bird species (16) observed feeding on A. ferox nectar, suggest that this plant is an important source of nutrition for birds at a time when other food resources are likely to be scarce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new mite, Lasioseius senegalensis n. sp. (Acari, Gamasina, Blattisociidae), is described. Lasioseius senegalensis n. sp. was found in Senegal on flowers of mistletoe Englerina lecardii (Engl.) Balle and on beaks of Scarlet-chested sunbirds Chalcomitra senegalensis (L. 1766) searching for food in the flowers of E. lecardii. L. senegalensis n. sp. differs from similar species by short smooth setae Z4, longer ventri-anal shield, number of ventrianal setae and absence of setae J1. A re-examination of the type material of Lasioseius cinnyris Fain and Mariaux, 1991 also was done and figures of the legs are newly presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]