82 
THE WILSON JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY • Vol. 124. No. 1. March 2012 
FIG. I. Overview of the study areas in the Lesser 
Antillean Archipelago. 
The understory in tropical wet forests on these 
islands is dominated by abundant H. bifwi and 
H. caribaea. although both species are usually 
allopatrically distributed within a given island. 
Plants in the genus Heliconia are long-lived 
(20 yrs), perennial, rhizomatous herbs in which 
each rhizome (genet) generates several ramets 
(clones: 2 to > 100 ramets) in a given year (Berry 
and Kress 1991). Each ramet bears one multi¬ 
tiered inflorescence which consists of several 
sequentially opening flowers within a bract and 
several sequentially opening bracts within an 
inflorescence. Each flower within a bract lasts 
only a single day and flowers remain open from 
dawn to dusk (Temeles et al. 2005, Gowda and 
Kress 2008). 
Puqile-throated Caribs were banded at each site 
(Table 1) during March and April with unique 
color-coded darvic bands (www.avinet.com) and 
observed for 24 hrs (8 hrs/day X 3 days) per month 
in March. April, May, June. July, September. 
November, December, and January . These months 
represent both the peak (Mar to Jul) and the non- 
peak (Aug to Feb) flowering seasons of the two 
native heliconias (Gowda 2009) and also cover tie 
breeding period of Purple-throated Caribs (Mar i>> 
Jul) (Wolf 1975, Temeles and Kress 2010). All 
observations of territoriality by Purple-throated 
Caribs on St. Kills and Dominica were made at 
marked clumps of H. caribaea plants over multiple 
years. H. caribaea is very rare on St, Vincent (only 
2 clumps found in the forest); thus, observations 
of territoriality by Purple-throated Caribs wen 
conducted on marked clumps of H. bihai. We 
delineated the boundaries of territories by noting 
the point at which territorial males evicted 
intruders, which included both conspecific males 
and females, and heterospecifics (Temeles et al 
2005). We concluded that males were display¬ 
ing ‘territorial fidelity' if the same marked 
territorial bird was observed and recaptured at the 
same marked feeding plants for >2 yrs after first 
capture. We also recorded the number of flowers 
within the clump on each observation day to assess 
use of Heliconia patches by males in relation to 
flowering. 
RESULTS 
Territoriality at Heliconia caribaea.—We ob¬ 
served few visits (4-5 visits/day) by male Purple- 
throated Caribs to clumps of H. caribaea in the 
beginning of March when budding inflorescences 
were visible but no open flowers were available 
Male Purple-throated Caribs on all islands, but 
especially on Dominica, increased their visitation 
frequency as the flowering season progressed 
(Fig. 2) and spent more lime on the territory 
defending against incoming visitors to single 
flowering inflorescences or often even at inflo¬ 
rescences without flowers. Male Purple-throated 
Caribs rarely left the vicinity for more than a fe' v 
hours a day or rarely for an entire day dunng the 
beginning of the flowering season of H. caribaea 
indhdditfs momWdn' !*! °' ' PurplcM,m >aled Caribs from three eastern Caribbean Islands. Number 
-1_ PU lsljnd "■ individuals displaying territoriality = T. and individuals displaying site fidelity = 
Island 
Territorial months on 
non -Hdiconia plan's 
