Within-Season Trends in the Foraging Behavior of the Mountain Chickadee

Publication Type:	Journal Article
Year of Publication:	1995
Authors:	Kleintjes, PK, Dahlsten, DL
Journal:	The Wilson Bulletin
Volume:	107
Issue:	4
Date Published:	1995
ISBN Number:	00435643
Keywords:	Corvidae, Corvus, Corvus corone, Paridae, Parus, Parus gambeli, Poecile, Poecile gambeli
Abstract:	We compared foraging behaviors of adult Mountain Chickadees (Parus gambeli) within and among breeding seasons. Foraging behaviors differed little between nestling and fledgling "feeding" periods of the breeding cycle with the exception of substrate use and foraging distance from the bole. During the nestling period birds spent the majority of foraging time searching for prey on the needles in the outer crown whereas during the fledgling period the birds spent significantly less time in the outer crown yet more time on new shoots. Among year variation was significant for the majority of foraging variables and data pooled for the entire breeding season masked within season trends. Our results indicate that within season comparisons of foraging behavior are important for revealing significant trends in behavior. They also suggest that Mountain Chickadees are opportunistic feeders and may time their breeding season with the growth of white fir so that older nestlings or fledglings are present when new shoots are expanded and thus contain a greater availability of prey to meet the demands of the older offspring.
URL:	http://www.jstor.org/stable/4163602
Short Title:	The Wilson Bulletin

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