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Flowerpiercers are 'cheats': they are nectar drinkers like hummingbirds and honeycreepers, but instead of performing a service to the plant by transferring pollen, they bite holes at the base of the flower with their hooked bills and steal the nectar. There are a number of species in the Neotropics; this one is found in Andean cloud forests. I photographed them near the Wayqecha Research Station, at about 3000 m elevation on the Manu Road in southeastern Peru (the black-throated flowerpiercer is shown on another page). |
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