Abstract

TORRES GONZALEZ, Alba Marina et al. Use of Samanea saman and Pithecellobium dulce (Fabaceae: Mimosoideae) by Birds in the University Botanical Garden, Cali, Colombia. rev. cienc. [online]. 2014, vol.18, n.2, pp.63-78. ISSN 0121-1935.

The wooded areas of cities, such as the campus of Melendez at the Universidad del Valle, have the importance of connecting urban and rural areas and providing resources for sustaining biodiversity in the city. The objective of this research was to determine the use of saman tree (Samanea saman) and chiminango tree (Pithecellobium dulce) by birds, in the University Botanical Garden (UBG) of the Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia. The saman and chiminango were visited by 45 species of birds of 17 families, among them one endemic, 41 resident and 3 migratory, between September and November, 2012. The hummingbird Ocreatus underwoodii was first recorded for the UBG. Feeding was the most important activity for birds and was distributed for each tree species as follow: nectar consumption (51.4%) and search-consumption of insects (47.1%) in saman, and search-consumption of insects (61.5%) and seed consumption (29.7%) in chiminango. There were folivory and flower predation registered by certain species of birds in chiminango and saman, and chicks searchinghunting in saman. In addition, four species of birds constructed nests in chiminango, while any in saman. In conclusion, the birds used the substrates and layers of trees, so they coexist and utilize the tree resources. In fact, the bird species that most frequently visited saman and chiminango, used all layers and had a diet varied or generalist

Keywords : saman; chiminango; tree layers; tree substrates; activities of birds.

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