Investigation of the diet of wild Madagascar teal Anas bernieri

Over a four day period during the moult in May 1999, 84 Madagascar teal Ana s bernieri were captured by hand at Lac Antsamaky, in the Masoarivo region of western Madagascar. The birds were ringed and measured and 24 faecal sam ples were collected and stored in alcohol. The birds were subsequently rele ased. Ten samples of mud from sites where teal were feeding were collected with a long-handled scoop-net and stored in 90% alcohol. All samples were e xamined with a binocular microscope in the laboratory of ORSTOM in Antanana rivo. The mud samples contained remains from two families of Coleoptera (on e aquatic and one terrestrial), one hemipteran and four sorts of Diptera la rvae, one of which was from the family Ceratopogonidae. Seeds from three pl ant families were also seen. The faecal samples contained fragments of vege tation (shoots, leaves, seeds or seed coats) from Cyperaceae and Polygonace ae; invertebrate fragments (legs, mandibles, wings) from Coleoptera, Hymeno ptera, Homoptera and Diptera; a complete hemipteran; and a small fish bone fragment. Cyperaceae fragments and terrestrial coleopterans were the most a bundant items in the faeces, We did not sample aerial invertebrates close t o water, but the teal feed in damp mud which is in the process of drying ou t. In addition, the teal hide in vegetation during the moulting period and may be catching insects within the vegetation. The faecal samples contained only non-digestible remains and were collected during a specific time (mou lt), so do not represent a complete picture of the teal's diet.