Handicapped American Kestrels: Needy or prudent foragers?

To determine the role that individual predator attributes may play in prey selection, we studied the effect of morphological abnormalities of wild Ame rican Kestrels (Falco sparverius) on their predatory behavior. Because morp hological abnormalities should affect foraging behavior, we classified indi viduals possessing these traits as handicapped. As a measure of predatory b ehavior, we used the latency to attack a trap baited with a relatively larg e and potentially dangerous prey item. Handicapped individuals may be needy because they are poor foragers and, therefore, by necessity would attack l arge and dangerous prey sooner than would controls. Alternatively, handicap ped individuals may be ineffective predators and would, therefore, be prude nt in their selection of prey and reluctant to attack. Consistent with the latter prediction, we found that latency to attack tended to be longer for handicapped than for control males, but there was no difference for females . For males, the reluctance to attack may be explained by either the low pr ofitability or high risk presented by the prey. A difference in motivation to capture prey during the prelaying season may account for the different r esults for males and females.