Hummingbirds like succulents too

Susan Mahr

From tiny Glittering-bellied Emeralds (Chlorostilbon lucidus) to Planalto Hermits (Phaethornis pretrei) and Swallow-tailed Hummingbirds (Eupetomena macroura), hummers are a common sight around Brazil’s flowering melocacti, tacingas, and even some succulent trees, such as Ceiba jasminodora. Like many New World plants, these have evolved features (such as tubular red flowers with copious nectar) specifically to attract hummers.

Some hummingbirds are trap-line foragers, visiting a circuit of specific plants over and over. At one site I sat on some rocks near a couple of melocacti being visited by Glittering-bellied Emeralds, which would visit their plants at five minute intervals. At another spot we watched territorial swallowtails aggressively defending their nectar sources, both from other Swallow-tailed Hummingbirds and any Emeralds that would dare try to visit “their” cactus. They were also curious about human intruders and would occasionally zoom in and hover near me for a moment before darting off again. When we saw Planalto Hermits traplining around Micranthocereus polyanthus and Arrojadoa penicillata, it was easy work to wait for a subject to return on its rounds for a photo op.