3.2 Birds visiting Gumbo Limbo
As summarized in Appendix 1, of thirty-one bird species observed in
Gumbo Limbos twenty-seven were observed feeding. Fifteen species fed at
both the Llano Grande and the cemetery trees, nine species fed at
Cecilia’s tree, and five species fed at Steve’s tree. Most visits were
of short duration (one-two minutes), but several medium-sized birds did
stay in the tree for longer periods of time. However, the bird with the
fourth largest average time of visits, Red-legged Honeycreeper
(Cyanerpes cyaneus ), was one of the smallest. No species was
observed in all four Gumbo Limbos, but Rose-throated Becards
(Pachyramphus aglaiae ), Yellow-green Vireos (Vireo
flavoviridis ), and Yellow-throated Vireos (Vireo flavifrons ) fed
in three of the four different trees. Also observed in three different
trees were Dusky-capped Flycatchers (Empidonax oberholseri ), but
they only fed in two of them.
However, of all the birds feeding on Gumbo Limbo fruits, the species
observed the most was Scarlet-rumped Tanager (Ramphocelus
passerinii ). Males and/or females fed in the Llano Grande Gumbo Limbo
on six of the seven observations I made of this tree. During those
observations, Scarlet-rumped Tanagers fed fifteen different times, and
only on the last observation did Scarlet-rumped Tanagers visit but not
feed. The only other species that fed frequently at the Llano Grande
Gumbo Limbo were Chestnut-capped Warblers and Red-legged Honeycreepers.
Chestnut-capped Warblers fed seven times, and Red-legged Honeycreepers
fed six times.
During my study eight migrant species were observed in the four
different Gumbo Limbos. Only two did not feed on the fruits —
Tennessee Warbler (Leiothlypis peregrina ) and Western Tanager
(Piranga ludoviciana ). In comparison, twenty-four
non-migrants/breeders visited these trees and only three were not
observed feeding — Brown-crested Flycatcher (Myiarchus
tyrannulus ), Boat-billed Flycatcher, and Gray-crowned Yellowthroat
(Geothlypis poliocephala ).