PHYTOSOME: MOST SIGNIFICANT TOOL FOR HERBAL DRUG DELIVERY TO ENHANCE THE THERAPEUTIC BENEFITS OF PHYTOCONSTITUENTS

Abstract

I studied the nesting biology of Yellow-throated Euphonias (Thraupinae: Euphoniu himndinaceu) in Monteverde, Costa Rica, in 1987-1990. Most nesting occurred from April to July (N = 69 nests) in covered nests in road banks. Modal clutch size was five eggs (X = 4.4), an unusually large number for a tropical passerine. Only females incubated eggs, but both parents fed nestlings. Parents regurgitated food for nestlings, and examination of nestling fecal samples indicated that fruit made up most of the diet starting from the day of hatching. Morphological specializations of the digestive tract may enable, or even require, them to use fruit in the nestling diet more extensively than other birds. Parents visited the nest infrequently, arrived at the nest together, and accompanied one another to the nest entrance in what may be a distraction display to confuse potential nest predators. The covered nests, the infrequent visits to the nest, and the behavior at the nest may all contribute to reducing nest predation in this species. The combination of large clutch size, extreme nestling frugivory, and coordinated parental behavior is unique, and the inclusion of eu- phonias in comparative studies addressing the evolution of these traits should prove valuable.