Yuri Barros

Here there are some birds that can be Bananas Pollinators.........

first a brief text about Pollination :

from Wikipédia

"The word pollinator is often used when pollenizer is more precise. A pollinator is the biotic agent that moves the pollen, such as bees, moths, bats, and birds."

"The verb form to pollenize is to be the source of pollen, or to be the sire of the next plant generation."

Pollinator or Pollenizer – What’s in a word?

•Pollinate: The act of moving pollen from one flower to another
•Pollinator: The biotic agent that moves pollen from one flower to another; bee, wasp, fly, bat, bird, moth, beetle or ant
•Pollinize: To provide pollen, to pollinate
•Pollinizer: A plant that provides fertile pollen
•Self-fertile: A plant that is capable of producing viable fruit using its own pollen (also "self-fruitful")
•Self-pollinate: A plant that is capable of pollinating its own flowers


So.....let´s see the birds capable to do this task...........true gems of the Nature......


(Arachnothera magna)




(Arachnothera magna)




(Arachnothera modesta)



Knowed as SUNBIRDS..........



the stuff is really cool.....

Yuri Barros

some Psittaculidae...........specially from the Subfamily Loriinae........can be Pollinators.........

(Vini peruviana)....from Tahiti.........



(Vini peruviana)....




(Vini ultramarina).......from Marquesas.....




(Vini ultramarina).....




(Vini kuhlii)...from Rimatara........




(Vini kuhlii)......

Richard

Edible bananas do not need pollenating. Great photos of birds though ...

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Yuri Barros

Yes........edible bananas don´t need it.....

but....

They can do the job........in areas where wild Bananas grow.......such northeast Australia.........PNG............and in Asia..........specially the SUNBIRDS......

Scientists founded new species in Andaman Islands and in Thailand......maybe some Bird species have some degree of patternship.....in both pollination and seed dispersion.............

Hymalaian new species....Mekong new species........all of them maybe have some sunbird as a pollinator...........

the Sunbirds (Nectariniidae)..........distribution map matches some of wild Banana areas...........




and......this ercet flowers belongs to these wild Bananas.......




with time......one can make a great study of the (Nectariniidae).......and maybe one can find some links between wild bananas species and certain species of Sunbirds.........

Yuri Barros

There´s a Book on Sunbirds........

Its a great start point to study if some sunbird´s range matches with some wild banana´s range......

Richard

Much of that map (esp. Africa) shows locations that Musa have naturalized; i.e. brought by humans. I believe the original wild range is SE Asia.

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Richard

Here's a list of various Sunbird species, from which you could determine overlap of original native wild banana ranges.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunbir...nd_systematics

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Yuri Barros

cool Richard....

based in what I´m seeing...........judging by their beak size and shape.....I assume that there´s a co-evolutive issue............between Sunbirds and certain flowers........

I guess if there´s a direct relationship with Musa species.....

???

WonderKeeper

Beautiful photos and story.

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pvj

Nice pictures!