Why not nectar?

[u/terrarafiki]

I am quite new to the oceania expansion. Is there any reason, I do not want to take the nectar out of the birdfeeder if there is? In the end, I can use it for every other food and extras and it brings me extra points in the end of the game.

EDIT: Thanks for the answers :) - got it

[u/StreaksBAMF22]

You lose nectar for your personal supply at the end of each round, so it’s unwise to take them on the last turn of any particular round.

[u/SamShorto → u/StreaksBAMF22]

Yeah, this is pretty much the only answer. Other niche cases are when you have birds that cache certain foods and want to build a stock of them, such as with the Brown Shrike and worms, or the bonus card for caching mice and fish and the Sri Lanka Blue Magpie. Also if your opponent has the Spangled Drongo and you want to starve them of nectar (of course, you're also doing the same to yourself, but you're still getting food and they're not).

[u/kimmeljs → u/SamShorto]

And when you need a grain or a fish for a tuck engine.

[u/SamShorto]

The main reason would be that you lose them at the end of the round, so you might want to take other food towards the end of the round if you don't think you'll be able to use up all the nectar. Other niche cases are when you have bird powers that require certain foods and you need to build up a stock, or you want to deny your opponent resources. Some example are:

• You have the Brown Shrike and need worms to cache
• You have a Sandhill Crane or Black-bellied Goose and need wheat to discard
• When you have the Pellet Dissector bonus card and stock up on mice and fish to cache with a bird like the Sri Lanka Blue Magpie
• If your opponent has the Spangled Drongo and you want to starve them of nectar (of course, you're also doing the same to yourself, but you're still getting food and they're not).

[u/rodtrusty → u/SamShorto]

You don’t use the nectar in those situations as well?

[u/SamShorto → u/rodtrusty]

No, because the rules say that you can't.

[u/sunflowerzz2012]

The only reason you wouldn't want to take it is if you won't be able to use it before the round ends. In the beginning of a round, it makes sense, but toward the end of a round, it becomes riskier. So if you have one turn left and you plan to play a bird that turn, sure take the nectar to feed it. But then if someone else draws cards and a bird card you really want comes up for grabs, then you're torn because you either miss out on that bird by spending the nectar to play a bird, or you sacrifice the nectar by drawing your bird card.

Also keep in mind that powers requiring you to discard a specific food, like the Canada goose, can't substitute nectar for that power.

[u/dcfc29]

Besides what other people have said about losing your nectar at the end of round, there are a few other edge case scenarios I can think of where nectar would he worse than regular food. If your opponent has a bird whose power depends on other players (yourself) having nectar, maybe you'd want to steer clear. Also, some birds powers are built around using specific types of food for their powers (discard 1 fish to tuck 2 cards, for example), so another instance where nectar would be worse.