Browsing by Subject "Mistletoe"

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    The dispersal of three mistletoe species by birds in the Loskop Dam Nature Reserve
    (1979) Godschalk, Seakle Klaas Benne
    The mistletoe species Tapinanthus leendertziae, T. natalitius and Viscum combreticola and their avian dispersal agents were studied in the field during February 1977 - May 1978. The study was carried out in seven different plant communities. Year-round surveys were made of the reproductive phenology of the mistletoes. Aspects of pollination and germination of mistletoes were investigated. The birds visiting mistletoe plants were studied with respect to the rate at which they removed fruit and the way they dealt with mistletoe seeds. The diet of the Yellowfronted Tinker Barbet Pogoniulus chrysoconus, the main dispersor of the seeds of the mistletoes, was studied. Comparisons are made between mistletoes and their dispersal agents in savanna and forest biomes in South Africa, and the dispersal of mistletoes by birds in other continents of the world is· reviewed.