NECTAR ROBBING BY THE RED-TAILED COMET SAPPHO SPARGANURUS: THE VALUE OF CITIZEN SCIENCE TO DOCUMENT INFREQUENT BEHAVIOR IN BIRDS

Abstract

Nectar robbing by hummingbirds, the extraction of nectar using perforations instead of the corolla, is seldom documented in the literature. Here, we present the first photographic record of nectar robbing by the Red-tailed Comet Sappho sparganurus in Bolivia and examine published and photographic evidence of this behavior. We found no published evidence of nectar robbing by Red-tailed Comets in peer-reviewed literature. However, we found that about 4% of the photographs of hummingbird-flower interactions involving this species on citizen science platforms showed clear nectar robbing behavior. Our results suggest that nectar robbing is not an uncommon behavior for the Red-tailed Comet and highlight the hidden, yet immense, value of citizen science photographic databases to document avian natural history and behavior.