Proponents of the Information Center hypothesis suggest that colonially breeding birds learn the location of good feeding sites by following successful birds from a colony, that such information exchange was critical to the evolution of coloniality, and that colonies acting as Information Centers are important for birds in all colonial taxa. The evidence supporting this hypothesis, however, is indirect and could result from behaviors other than information exchange. Further, information exchange may not be as important as other mechanisms whereby birds may more effectively exploit their food resources by nesting colonially.
1 observed 17 bird species feeding on herring eggs throughout high and low tides at high rocky intertidal and low intertidal areas in an Oregon estuary. At low tide gulls fed directly on eggs, but at high tide they pirated eggs from diving birds or picked up eggs drifting in water. Brant, wigeon, and coots picked up eggs while walking, or tipping up or through piracy; in deeper water coots dove for eggs. Diving ducks obtained eggs by diving, by piracy, or by picking up eggs while swimming. Less than 25% of the gulls, coots, or Buffleheads, but as many as 45% of the scaups and 83% of the scoters observed in the lower estuary were in groups feeding on herring eggs. The species composition and abundance of birds varied within the estuary and probably reflected: 1) the onset of spring migration; 2) immigration of birds into the estuary to feed on eggs; 3) the presence of birds near a site of egg denosition: and 4) the domination of herring egg deposits by gulls in theipper intertidal zone.
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