SPRING FEEDING ECOLOGY OF CINNAMON-TEAL IN ARIZONA

I examined feeding behavior and diet of Cinnamon Teal (Anas cyanoptera ) breeding on high-elevation (>1950 m) wetlands in northern Arizona to determine the dietary strategies this species uses to meet energy and nutrient demands from spring arrival through laying. Females spent mo re diurnal time feeding (P < 0.001) and contained more total food and a greater proportion (dry mass basis) of animal food (P < 0.10) than t heir mates. Invertebrate proportion of female diets varied (P = 0.029) among three reproductive categories (64-76%) and among three location s (64-85%), whereas male diets did not (P = 0.179). Aquatic dipterans and gastropods comprised 36% and 15% of female diets and 32% and 8% of male diets, respectively. Dietary strategies of Cinnamon Teal nesting on high-elevation wetlands in Arizona are similar to those of other A nas species breeding on prairie habitats.