Birds as pollinators of Feijoa (Acca sellowiana Bera)

Feijoa is mostly an allogamous fruit tree of the Myrtaceae family, so its productivity relies on suitable pollen carriers for cross pollination. Preliminary trials carried out at Videira Experimental Station, S.C., with bird-cage screen, allowing free access to bees but not to birds, showed a low bee efficiency as pollinators. Similar results were obtained in New Zealand where pollination of Feijoa is attributed to two bird species. In Santa Catarina, petals of every Feijoa flower were eaten by the fauna before natural dropping at senescence. Observations made during the blooming period in several years, showed that the majority of the bird species from the Traupidae and Turdidae families known as fruit-eaters in Santa Catarina highlands, also eat the fleshy and sweet as well as showy petals of feijoa. The most frequent species identified were: Traupis s. sayaca, Traupis b. bonariensis, Stephanophorus diadematus, Elaenia mesoleuca, Turdus r. rufiventris, Turdus spp., Tangara spp. and Mimus saturninus frater. Specimens of the three first species were caught by netting, so it was possible to observe that they were carrying feijoa pollen on their head top.