BANANAQUIT

December 21, 2006. Monteverde, Costa Rica. The feeders at Monteverde were not just for hummingbirds. The cute little Bananaquit also was a common visitor. We were told that this bird would show its intelligence when the water level in a feeder got too low for its shorter bill to reach. Supposedly several of them would perch all on one side of a feeder to tilt the feeder and make it deeper on their side. Even harder to believe, we were also told that one would quickly alternate perching on one side and then the other to create a wave action and thus get to drink.