Optimal prey selection in the great tit (Parus major)

Krebs, J. R., Erichsen, Jonathan Thor ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1545-9853, Webber, M. I. and Charnov, E. L. 1977. Optimal prey selection in the great tit (Parus major). Animal Behaviour 25 (1) , pp. 30-38. 10.1016/0003-3472(77)90064-1

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Abstract

We tested the predictions of an optimal foraging model using five captive great tits as predators. The birds were presented with two prey types, profitable and unprofitable, on a moving belt. Both prey types were made out of mealworms. When the encounter rate with both prey types was low, the birds were non-selective, but at a higher encounter rate with profitable prey, the birds selectively ignored the less profitable type and did so irrespective of the encounter rate with them. These results are as predicted by the model, but the birds did not as predicted change from no selection in a single step. We suggest that this is because the birds invest time in sampling to determine the availability and profitability of different prey types.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Optometry and Vision Sciences
Subjects:	Q Science > QH Natural history > QH301 Biology Q Science > QL Zoology
Publisher:	Elsevier
ISSN:	0003-3472
Last Modified:	18 Oct 2022 14:30
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/17780

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