>Dennis says: <They have come several times into a large western red cedar next
>door to us to feed on the seeds. They're probably just as talented as
>crossbills in opening up the cones.>
>
>I figured the same. I'd love to watch it, better yet, video it. Not knowing
>the flora of their native turf, I wonder if there is something comparable to
>our cone crop.

It's fascinating, really, that they do this, as there are no cone-bearing
conifers (there are Podocarpus, which are conifers that don't bear cones)
in their range in Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. I think they are good
generalists.

This particular species has actually increased with deforestation and has
become much more common in settled areas of Costa Rica over the years (I
had them in my yard there, too!). It eats fruits of a great variety of
tropical and subtropical trees in Costa Rica, both native and introduced,
also flowers of some of them. And, as I wrote before, it is a "pest" of
sorghum and corn crops.

I think we sometimes forget that it isn't only starlings, House Sparrows,
Canada Geese, gulls and Republicans that benefit from human endeavors.

Dennis Paulson, Director phone: (206) 756-3798
Slater Museum of Natural History fax: (206) 756-3352
University of Puget Sound e-mail: dpaulson at ups.edu
Tacoma, WA 98416