Ecología del barbudito de páramo (Oxypogon guerinii, Trochilidae) en el páramo de Siscunsí, Boyacá, Colombia

During one year I studied a population of Oxypogon guerinii in the Páramo de Siscunsí, Boyacá, Colombia, including its interaction with 19 plant species and its tactics for foraging for arthropods. O. guerinii displayed a preference for the flowers of Espeletia spp. (frailejones) and Brachyotum strigosum, which inhabits the supáramo and ecotonal areas. I observed a peak of flowering in the páramo during the months of greatest precipitation (April to October), while in the dry season (November to February) flowers were very scarce. To survive the period of flower scarcity, O. guerinii visited entomophilous flowers different from the frailejones and apparently emigrated to adjacent páramos and high Andean forest. The molt commenced in August and apparently continued through the period of absence from Siscunsí, ending in May. Reproduction probably commenced in May and peaked in August, when I found three active nests. I recorded five tactics for foraging for arthropods.