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The importance of a main dish: nestling diet and foraging behaviour in Mediterranean blue tits in relation to prey phenology

  • Behavioral ecology - Original Paper
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Abstract

Insectivorous birds rely on a short period of food abundance to feed their young; they must time their reproduction to match the timing of Lepidoptera larvae, their main prey. Apart from the net result (i.e. birds are timed or mistimed with respect to the food’s peak), an important aspect is the possible influence of other factors, such as the seasonality of the environment or the abundance and diversity of species contributing to the caterpillar peak, on birds’ phenology and their ability to cope well with unpredictable food supplies. In a 2-year study, we explored the seasonal variation of nestling diet in Mediterranean blue tits Cyanistes caeruleus and how reproductive parameters (nestling condition, provisioning rates) are affected by the phenology and composition of food. We also examined the influence of the synchrony between offspring needs and caterpillar peak in shaping the composition of the nestlings’ diet. We found that the effect of synchrony on nestling condition varied between years which may be partially due to differences in food peak attributes. The adequacy of birds’ timing in relation to prey phenology affected foraging decisions; those birds that were not able to correctly adjust their timing were forced to rely on less preferred prey (tortricids). In this sense, we found that relative contribution of tortricids (smaller caterpillars but easier to get) and noctuids (preferred prey but more difficult to find) to the diet influenced nestling condition and parental provisioning effort; parents performed fewer feeding events and reared heavier nestlings as the contribution of noctuids to the diet increased. The relationship between the proportion of caterpillars and nestling mass was curvilinear, whereas that parameter was negatively affected by the percentage of pupae. Our results show how changes in diet composition may contribute to explain the effect of mismatching on birds’ breeding performance.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to J.M. Sebastián, C. Rodríguez Vigal and the rest of the staff of Centro Quintos de Mora (Organismo Autónomo Parques Nacionales-Ministerio de Medio Ambiente) for the facilities offered to us to work in this protected area. Permits to capture and ring adults and nestlings were obtained from Dirección General del Medio Natural (Junta de Castilla-La Mancha). V. García-Navas was supported by a FPI predoctoral fellowship (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación-European Social Fund). This study was funded by the project GCL2007-61395 (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación).

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  1. Departamento de Ciencias Ambientales, Facultad de Medio Ambiente, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Avenida Carlos III s/n, 45071, Toledo, Spain

    Vicente García-Navas & Juan José Sanz

  2. Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC, Madrid, Spain

    Juan José Sanz

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  1. Vicente García-Navas
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Correspondence to Vicente García-Navas.

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García-Navas, V., Sanz, J.J. The importance of a main dish: nestling diet and foraging behaviour in Mediterranean blue tits in relation to prey phenology. Oecologia 165, 639–649 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-010-1858-z

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