AVIS-IBIS

Birds of Indian Subcontinent

Foraging Behavior and Nestling Diet of Chestnut-Backed Chickadees in Monterey Pine

Publication Type:Journal Article
Year of Publication:1994
Authors:Kleintjes, PK, Dahlsten, DL
Journal:The Condor
Volume:96
Issue:3
Date Published:1994
ISBN Number:00105422
Keywords:Corvidae, Corvus, Corvus corone, Paridae, Parus, Parus rufescens, Poecile, Poecile rufescens
Abstract:The foraging behavior and nestling diet of Chestnut-backed Chickadees (Parus rufescens) was studied during the breeding season (March-May) in a Monterey pine (Pinus radiata) plantation, 1991-1992. Adult birds spent 79% (±7.1 SD) of their foraging time on Monterey pine as a result of prey availability. The majority of this time was spent perch gleaning and hang gleaning prey from the outer needles of the upper tree crown. Nestling diet was composed of approximately 43% Monterey pine sawfly larvae (Acantholyda burkei, Hymenoptera: Pamphiliidae) and 17% tree camel crickets (Gammarotettix bilobatus, Orthoptera: Rhaphidophoridae). Both insects feed upon Monterey pine foliage. Spiders and individual Homoptera, Hemiptera, Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, and Diptera species comprised the remaining 40% of the diet. Monterey pine serves as an important foraging resource for Chestnut-backed Chickadees during the breeding season and may have contributed to the range expansion and population increase of this species in the San Francisco Bay region.
URL:http://www.jstor.org/stable/1369468
Short Title:The Condor
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