A Telemetry-based Study of Snowy Egret (Egretta thula) Nest-activity Patterns, Food-provisioning Rates and Foraging Energetics

Abstract

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Parental Nesting Behavior, Chick Growth and Breeding Success of Shoebills(Balaeniceps rex)in the Bangweulu Wetlands, Zambia

“…The decrease in the number of trips to collect nest material during the breeding season is most likely associated with the water levels. Early in the season, whilst the nest is floating, the weight of the water soaked in the nest will pull the nest down, so constant maintenance is required (Buxton et al 1978;Maccarone et al 2012). When water levels decrease, the nest eventually rests on solid ground and little maintenance is necessary.…”

“…Shoebills are visual hunters (Möller 1982) and, therefore, are unlikely to capture prey and feed their chicks at night. The first early morning peak is probably the result of foraging around sunrise (Bryan et al 2005;Maccarone et al 2012) to provision the chick after a night without food. We were rarely able to identify prey species as the prey was regurgitated out of sight onto the nest or fed directly into the beak of the chick.…”

Effect of Water Level and Time of day on Black-Crowned Night-Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) Foraging Behavior at an Artificial Weir: 2013–2014

“…This weir has been the focus of previous studies on foraging behavior by Snowy Egrets (Egretta thula) and Great Egrets (Maccarone et al 2010). Most of the birds that feed at this weir breed in a large mixed-species colony 3 km to the west (Maccarone et al 2012).…”

“…Aggressive interactions occur between Black-crowned Night-Herons and other species of wading birds, so the numbers of other herons and egrets also was recorded. Because marked Great and Snowy egrets return daily to this weir (Maccarone et al 2010(Maccarone et al , 2012, the same Black-crowned Night-Herons might also return repeatedly. Birds in this study were not marked, so it could not be determined if the same individuals were observed more than one time.…”

“…Prey length and type of fish (when possible) also was recorded. A mean bill length of 7.7 cm reported for Black-crowned Night-Herons (Davis 1993) was used to comparatively estimate fish length (Maccarone et al 2012). Fish lengths and identification were determined for 90% of successful strikes.…”