Specialist frugivores are the dominant consumers of mistletoe
fruit in many regions and have been shown to intensify
infections of host plants as a result of their rapid gut passage
rates and dependence on existing infections. The role of
specialist frugivores in long distance dispersal of mistletoe
and establishment of new infections is unclear, and has not been
explicitly evaluated previously. Here we critically examine the
premise that specialists are the dominant dispersers by
examining the role of an Australian mistletoe specialist
(mistletoebird Dicaeum hirundinaceum Dicaeidae) in dispersing
mistletoe (Amyema preissii Santalales: Loranthaceae) seeds
beyond infected host stands. We use two primary lines of
evidence - presence of birds using remote call recorders, and
presence of dispersed seeds via surveys for defecated seeds on
host branches. The observed and inferred movements of the
mistletoebird were wholly restricted to habitat patches
containing mistletoe, and this bird was not observed to transpor