The Stripe-tailed Hummingbird (Eupherusa eximia) prefers nectar that is highly supplemented in both vitamins and minerals, when offered the choice of no, low, or high supplemented nectar. We tested the responses of hummingbirds in southern Brazil to four solutions: nectar, nectar supplemented with vitamins, nectar supplemented with minerals, and water with both vitamins and minerals added. Hummingbirds spent less time at and made fewer visits to the supplemented water than to the different nectar solutions, suggesting that nutrients alone are not enough to attract birds. One of eight species, the Violet-capped Woodnymph (Thalurania glaucopis), visited the mineral supplemented nectar more often than both nectars and one unidentified hermit species (Phaethornis sp.) visited the mineral treatment more than straight nectar. The Black-throated Mango (Anthracothorax nigricollis) made more visits to the vitamin supplemented nectar than to mineral-rich nectar whereas the Glittering-bellied Emerald (Chlorostilbon aureoventris) avoided the vitamin treatment, preferring straight nectar. A general pattern of preference was not found among species.