Science - USA (2021-07-09)

228 9JULY2021•VOL 373 ISSUE 6551 sciencemag.org SCIENCE

white-eyesbulbuls tits canaries

tyrant

antshrikesflycatchershoneyeaters

Family with nectar-taking members

songbirds

C

D

5

1 10 100

5

1 10 100

• 
  

20

1 10 100

• 
  

10

1 10 100

• 
  

15

1 10 100

• 
  

5

1 10 100

• 
  

5

1 10 100

70

1 10 100

60

1 10 100

20

1 10 100

10

1 10 100

15

1 10 100

5

1 10 100

20

1 10 100

Diet composition: Nectar Fruit Vegetation Seed Invertebrate prey

Concentration (mM)

Receptor activity

Amino acids

Alanine

Arginine

Histidine

Carbohydrates

Sucrose

Fructose

Glucose

Barred

antshrike

Rusty-margined

flycatcher

New Holland

honeyeater

Warbling

white-eye

Brown-eared

bulbul

Great

tit

Atlantic

canary

Diet

New Holland honeyeater

(Phylidonyris novaehollandiae)

Atlantic canary

(Serinus canaria)

AB

7

Water Sucrose

300 mM

Bouts per minute

0.12

Water Sucrose

300 mM

Time drinking(normalized)

7

Water Sucrose

750 mM

Bouts per minute

0.12

Water Sucrose

750 mM

* Time drinking(normalized) *

* *

invertivore invertivore nectarivore omnivore frugivore invertivore granivore

Fig. 2. Songbirds with diverse diets respond to sugars.Honeyeaters (A)(n= 10)
and canaries (B)(n= 8) display higher drinking rates and spend more time
per trial drinking sucrose than water (mean ± SE, *P< 0.001; table S5). (C) T1R1-
T1R3 from five songbird species (yellow shading) responds to carbohydrates;

receptors from both suboscines respond only to amino acids (n= 8 to 10, mean ±

SE; *P< 0.01 shown for sucrose; for other stimuli, see table S6). Illustrations

reproduced with permission of Lynx Edicions. (D) Phylogenetic position of tested

songbirds (red: families with >1% nectar-taking species).

RESEARCH | REPORTS