Diet and foraging habitats of non-breeding white storks (Ciconia ciconia) in Bulgaria

Archives of Biological Sciences

卷:65

关键词: White Stork;    Ciconia ciconia;    diet;    foraging habitat;   

DOI  :  10.2298/ABS1303007M

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

The diet of non-breeding White Storks was studied by pellet analysis andincluded mainly insects (99.9%, n=28947) with a predominance of grasshoppers(Orthoptera, 76.1%), and beetles (Coleoptera, 26.1%). The bush cricketsDecticus albifrons/verrucivorus were the most numerous prey (29.9% by items),occurring in almost all pellets (98% occurrence in pellets, n=147) andpredominating in half of them (49.7%). The grasshopper associations in thepellets specify foraging mainly in mesophytic grasslands that usually replaceabandoned fields and overgrown pastures with a low level of grazing. Thexerophytic grass-shrubby habitats, not rare on stony terrains, were of lessimportance, providing around 20% by prey. The typical aquatic inhabitants andthe use of carrion around villages were exceptions in the study diet. Thenumber of innutritious materials in the pellets rose when the White Storkshunted on nippy and agile grasshoppers and decreased when the main pray wasslower beetles taken from the ground. The roosting of non-breeding WhiteStorks disappeared when their preferred feeding habitats were ploughed up inthe following years.

【 授权许可】

Unknown