A questionnaire survey of bird damage to fruit

Dawson, D. G.; Bull, P. C.

doi:10.1080/00288233.1970.10425409

Cited by 16 publications

(12 citation statements)

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“…The starlings took fruit mainly in summer and autumn, when it was abundant. Damage by starlings to stone and pip fruits in New Zealand has been reported by Dawson & Bull (1970). Such feeding on temporarily abundant food has been reported by Moeed (1976) for Lepidoptera larvae and by East & Pottinger (1975) for Coleoptera larvae.…”

Section: Food Of Nestlingsmentioning

confidence: 87%

Diets of adult and nestling starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) in Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand

Moeed

1980

New Zealand Journal of Zoology

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Gizzards were examined from 334 adult and 62 nestling starlings collected in mixed farmland during 1971-72. The birds ate insects, spiders, earthworms, snails, millipedes, centipedes, seeds, and fruits. Starlings ate fewer subterranean animals (7%) than those usually living partially hidden (45%), on the ground (31%), or on vegetation (18%). About half the invertebrates eaten were 2-5 mm long and about a quarter 6-10mm long. Nestlings tend to be fed significantly larger items than were eaten by adults. The commonest items in adult starlings were Coleoptera adults, Lepidoptera larvae, Hemiptera, and fruits; in nestlings, Coleoptera adults and Diptera adults and larvae were important. Earthworms were found in all the nestlings. More than 50% of adult gizzards contained earthworm chaetae in wetter months, but fewer in drier months. The diet of starlings, despite considerable overlap with the foods eaten by mynas, rooks, and magpies, included somewhat different components and proportions of the food supply. Fruits were found in adults only; most were probably eaten after harvest. Although predation on two major pasture pests-Costelytra zealandica and Wiseana cervinata larvae-was insubstantial, nearly 40% of the total invertebrates eaten by adult starlings were insect pest species.

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Section: Food Of Nestlingsmentioning

confidence: 87%

Diets of adult and nestling starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) in Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand

Moeed

1980

New Zealand Journal of Zoology

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“…Attempts to increase starling populations in order to combat grass grub would have to be balanced against possible detrimental affects of starlings to agriculture. Fruit consumption by starlings may be a problem (Dawson & Bull 1970), but starlings are insignificant pests of cereal crops, since grain is not a preferred food and when taken is collected mainly from the ground in stubble fields, at least in Europe (Gromadzki 1969). Fouling of buildings by roosting and nesting starlings and bird-strike hazards at airports are mainly urban problems.…”

Section: Biological Control Of Grass Grub At Winchmorementioning

confidence: 99%

Starling (Sturnus vulgarisL.) predation on grass grub (Costelytra zealandica(White), Melolonthinae) populations in Canterbury

East

Pottinger

1975

New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research

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The main stages of the grass grub's life cycle available to starlings are third-instal' larvae (autumn and winter) and adults (spring). Starlings were observed to concentrate their probing within localised areas of high grass grub density during autumn and winter, but the birds appeared to probe randomly for grubs within these areas. Average starling numbers were 1711.5-2915.4 starling-hours per ha per day during autumn and winter in 0.25-to 0.8-ha plots in an area of irrigated pastureland at Winchmore containing an isolated grass grub infestation near a large starling roost. Exclusion studies in this area revealed that starlings inflicted mortalities of 40-60% on medium (400-600 per m-) and high C> 1000 per m 2) third-instal' grass grub populations between March and July and that this mortality prevented medium grass grub populations from increasing. Observational studies at Winchmore showed that starling feeding effort in 0.25-to 0.40-ha areas increased markedly when local grass grub density exceeded a threshold of approximately 150-200 per m 2 in the top 2.5-3.0 em of turf (a total population density of about 300-380 per m 2) • In three other study areas, which were more typical of Canterbury pastureland, average starling numbers during autumn and winter ranged from zero to 152.1 starling-hours per ha per day and exclusion of starlings did not significantly influence grass grub mortality. Starling predation on grass grub adults apparently has a negligible effect on grass grub populations. In the area of high predation at Winchmore, starling predation caused strongly density dependent mortality of grass grub populations over the range of densities from approximately 250-750 third-instal' larvae per m>. This predation, in combination with irrigation, high stocking rates, and grazing management which encouraged starlings to feed in infested paddocks, gave effective biological control of grass grub by preventing the population density from increasing above a level which caused moderate pasture damage in autumn but did not affect spring pasture production. Biological control of grass grubs by starlings may be possible only in localised areas with very high starling numbers.

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“…It is native to southern and south-east Asia. Common mynas are considered pests to fruit crops in many locales and they are predators on eggs of other birds (Dawson and Bull 1970, Byrd 1979, Nagle 2006. Mynas were introduced in American Samoa in the 1980s, and they are now found commonly throughout developed areas in the country (Chen 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Invasive Myna Control in American Samoa

Avery¹,

Eisemann²

2014

vertebrate_pest_conference

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The common myna is an invasive species in Florida, Hawaii, and in numerous other locations around the world. It is native to southern and south-east Asia. Common mynas are considered pests to fruit crops in many locales, and they are predators on eggs of other birds. Since their introduction to American Samoa in the 1980s, mynas have become the most frequently observed avifauna in developed areas in the country. The American Samoa Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources (DMWR) is concerned that expanding myna populations will exert competitive pressures on native species such as the Samoan starling and white-collared kingfisher. Additionally, the mynas are increasingly becoming social nuisances through nesting, foraging, and vocalization behaviors. The government and general population of American Samoa would like to eradicate these birds before populations are too large to control. In partnership with DMWR, we conducted trials with captive mynas to determine sensitivity to the avian toxicant DRC-1339, and to evaluate a potential baiting strategy for applying this toxicant on American Samoa to reduce myna populations.

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A questionnaire survey of bird damage to fruit

Cited by 16 publications

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Diets of adult and nestling starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) in Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand

Diets of adult and nestling starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) in Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand

Starling (Sturnus vulgarisL.) predation on grass grub (Costelytra zealandica(White), Melolonthinae) populations in Canterbury

Invasive Myna Control in American Samoa

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