FOODS OF BLUE-WINGED TEAL IN 2 NEOTROPICAL WETLANDS

Effective management and conservation of blue-winged teal (Anas discor s) require information on foods consumed in main wintering areas. We d escribe foods eaten by 84 blue-winged teal collected in Cienaga Grande de Santa Marta, Colombia, and Palo Verde Wildlife Refuge, Costa Rica. The volume of foods found in 12 blue-winged teal collected in Palo Ve rde in 1982-83 consisted of 92% plant and 8% animal material; cultivat ed rice predominated. In Cienaga Grande, foods found in blue-winged te al included 71% plant material during 1979-80 (n = 10) and 91% animal material (n = 62) in 1985-88 (P < 0.01). Water lily (Nymphaea spp.) se eds were the most common plant item. Snails (Pyrgophorus spp.) and Cor ixidae insects were the most prevalent animal items, We suggest that d ifferences between the 2 Cienaga Grande samples were due to food avail ability changes produced by gradually increasing salinity levels affec ting the area. We found no differences between sexes in the proportion s of plant (P = 0. 755) or animal foods consumed (P = 0.544). Their om nivorous diet enables blue-winged teal to use a variety of wetlands du ring winter and to adapt to seasonally varying conditions in wetlands.