S. Bures, RESPONSES OF GREY WAGTAIL MOTACILLA-CINEREA TO CHANGING PREY AVAILABILITY DURING THE NESTING PERIOD, Journal of avian biology, 26(4), 1995, pp. 325-329
Few studies are available on the responses of birds to fluctuations in
prey abundance during the breeding season. The aim of this study was
to study such responses of Grey Wagtails Motacilla cinerea. Prey avail
ability varied significantly, and often very rapidly, on both a tempor
al and a spatial scale. Grey Wagtails were able to keep track of chang
es in prey availability and to switch between foraging sites. The use
of foraging sites changed during the breeding period and in different
weather conditions. During periods with high prey availability, 95% of
prey capture attempts were recorded in the stream bed and specific ki
nds of prey, or prey of large body size, were selected. However, durin
g periods of food scarcity, Grey Wagtails switched to hunt mainly for
drifted invertebrates on roads etc. The results show that Grey Wagtail
s were able to optimize foraging behaviour in a changing environment.