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THE WILSON JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY . Vo/. 124, No. 1, March 2012 
(Green-throated Carib [Eulampis holosericeus], 
Antillean Crested Hummingbird [Orthorhynchus 
cristatus], Lesser Antillean Bullfinch [LaxigilUt 
noctis], Bananaquit | Coereba fluveola]) were 
chased from the territory by the resident male 
Purple-throated Carib. Displacement of a resident 
male Purple-throated Carib was observed only 
once during the study (Dominica. Carholme site). 
A new male Purple-throated Carib displaced the 
resident focal male in the second year of 
observation after a rapid aerial chasing and scrub- 
level scuffle. 
Territorial defense at H. caribaea by male 
Purple-throated Caribs lasted from March to July 
on Dominica (Table 1). Territorial defense had 
higher temporal variation on St. Kitts and St. 
Vincent (Fig. 2B, C; Table 1). For example, on 
St. Kitts, an all-day territorial presence at H. 
caribaea clump by PurpIe-throated Caribs was 
observed only from March to May, whereas 
territorial defense by Purple-throated Caribs on 
St. Vincent was observed only in April and May 
and was further restricted within a day, between 
0900 to 1500 hrs (Fig. 2C). Territorial defense by 
females was rare and only observed on St. Vincent 
where females chased conspccific females (4 
times) and nonspecific males (2 times). However, 
females chasing males could not be distinguished 
from their mating repertoire. 
Territorial Fidelity at Heliconia Patches .—Ail 
marked males on the three islands were faithful 
to their feeding territories across multiple years 
(Table 1). Individual males remained faithful to 
their Heliconia patches for 3 years on St. Vincent, 
4 years on St. Kitts, and 5 years on Dominica. 
Females did not show territorial behavior during 
the breeding season but the same female was 
recaptured in 2 years in the same feeding clump of 
H. bihai and H. caribaea on Dominica. Similarly, 
a banded, non-territorial female Purple-throated 
Carib was repeatedly observed at the same patch 
of H. bihai on St. Lucia over 2 years (EJT, unpubl. 
data) and in St. Vincent for 2 years. Thus, females 
may not defend territories, but thev apparently 
exhibit site fidelity to Heliconia patches when 
traplining. 
Purple throated Carib Territoriality and Site 
PHi"' ^ Absence of Heliconias .-Male 
Purple-throated Caribs exhibited territorial behav- 
ZeTof ,h of k othcr P ,mt *peci« during 
tunes of the year when H. caribaea was not 
(lowering. We observed the birds defending Citrus 
P" US SP " Ge **eria cymosa, Heliconia 
psittacorum, H. wagneriana , Inga ingoides, Lobe¬ 
lia cirsiifolia, Marcgravia umbellate. Musa sp.. 
and Wercklea tulipiflora. Seven of nine resident 
males, despite the complete absence of floweraof 
H. caribaea from August to March, were observed 
in the general vicinity ol their H. caribaea territory 
in September, November. December. and January 
on St. Kitts (2 of 3 birds) and Dominica (5 of 6 
birds). One or more of the non -H. caribaea species 
was present within 200-1.000 m of Heliconia 
patches for all of these males. Male Purple-throated 
Caribs shitted their territorial defense to these plant 
species, although one of the marked birds was 
observed in a citrus farm >1 km distant. 
DISCUSSION 
Territoriality, foraging, and mate-selection in 
hummingbirds are behaviors strongly known to be 
influenced by local energy sources (Carpenter 
1958. Gass et al. 1976, DeJBenedictis et al. I97S. 
Gass 1978, Kodric-Brown and Brown 1978 ; 
Montgomerie el al. 1984. Gass and Sutherland 
1985. Temeles and Kress 2010). The abundant 
heliconias in the eastern Caribbean Islands repre¬ 
sent critical sources of nectar for hummingbirds 
due to the: (I) clonal habit of the plant that assure" 
high density within a small radius (2 to 3 J 
individuals/m*), (2) nectar rich flowers within the 
same inflorescence (up to 10 to 12 /inflorescence), 
and (3) long flowering season lasting several 
months (Apr to Jul) that assures a stead}, 
dependable food source (Temeles et al. 2005 . 
Gowda 2009, Temeles and Kress 2010). The 
presence of territoriality by Purple-throated Caribs 
throughout the flowering season of the heliconias 
and their associated multi-year site-fidelity con¬ 
firms the two heliconias (H. caribaea in St. Kilt' 
and Dominica, and H. bihai on St. Vincent) at* 
critical nectar sources for Purple-throated Carib' 
The presence of the same individuals at specific 
Heliconia clumps within a flowering season arid 
across years suggests the Purple-throated Caribs on 
these islands have a long-term imprint of high- 
quality loraging sites that are not abandoned eiihct 
within or between years. Hummingbirds use both 
fine (Miller et al. 1985, Sutherland and Gass 1995 
and coarse-grained memory' (Armstrong et at 
1987) to locate optimal food resources. Purple- 
throated Caribs likely use coarse-grained spatial 
memories to re-defend the same clump of Li 
caribaea year after year (Baida and Kamil 1989 ). 
Our observations of Purple-throated Caribs in 
the genera! vicinity of their territorial sites during 
