Minimal diurnal change in foraging time in an Australian passerine, the white-browed babbler Pomatostomus superciliosus

This paper describes the daily foraging pattern of the white-browed babbler Pomatostomus superciliosus, a small passerine endemic to Australia. The percentage of time spent foraging as the day progressed increased by an average of only 9%. This contrasts markedly with studies of other passerines tha...

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Veröffentlicht in:Journal of avian biology 2006-09, Vol.37 (5), p.527-531
Hauptverfasser: Taylor, Sarah G., Paul, Warren L.
Format: Artikel
Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:This paper describes the daily foraging pattern of the white-browed babbler Pomatostomus superciliosus, a small passerine endemic to Australia. The percentage of time spent foraging as the day progressed increased by an average of only 9%. This contrasts markedly with studies of other passerines that have mostly shown a bimodal pattern, with a peak of foraging early in the day followed by a period of reduced activity and a second peak later in the day. The most likely explanation for the observed pattern of foraging time is that babblers experienced considerable diurnal certainty in their food supply mainly as a result of stable and predictable weather conditions. The lack of a marked increase in foraging towards the end of the day might also have resulted from an increase in predation risk at this time and a reduced need to build up food reserves at the end of the day because of the energetic advantages of communal roosting in an enclosed nest.
ISSN:0908-8857
1600-048X
DOI:10.1111/j.0908-8857.2006.03530.x