TY - JOUR
T1 - Rare feeding behavior of Great-tailed Grackles (Quiscalus mexicanus) in the extreme habitat of Death Valley
AU - Grabrucker, Stefanie
AU - Grabrucker, Andreas M.
PY - 2010/10
Y1 - 2010/10
N2 - During the twentieth century, the Great-tailed Grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus) underwent a rapid and largescale range expansion, extending its northern limits from Texas in 1900 to 21 states in the US and 3 Canadian provinces by the end of the century. This explosive growth correlated with human-induced habitat changes. To investigate adaptations that might explain their expansion into even extreme habitats, a small number of Great-tailed Grackles were observed in Death Valley, CA. We noticed that these birds displayed a rare feeding behavior, i.e. picking dead insects from the license plates of parked vehicles. All birds used the same technique in obtaining the food and the behavior was displayed by both males and females. It was estimated that this food resource has a major contribution to the daily food intake. No other bird species sharing the same habitat showed this behavior although American crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos) had the possibility to watch the Great-tailed Grackles behavior.
AB - During the twentieth century, the Great-tailed Grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus) underwent a rapid and largescale range expansion, extending its northern limits from Texas in 1900 to 21 states in the US and 3 Canadian provinces by the end of the century. This explosive growth correlated with human-induced habitat changes. To investigate adaptations that might explain their expansion into even extreme habitats, a small number of Great-tailed Grackles were observed in Death Valley, CA. We noticed that these birds displayed a rare feeding behavior, i.e. picking dead insects from the license plates of parked vehicles. All birds used the same technique in obtaining the food and the behavior was displayed by both males and females. It was estimated that this food resource has a major contribution to the daily food intake. No other bird species sharing the same habitat showed this behavior although American crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos) had the possibility to watch the Great-tailed Grackles behavior.
KW - Adaptation
KW - Death Valley
KW - Feeding behavior
KW - Great-tailed Grackle
KW - License plate
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=78449258690&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.2174/1874453201003010101
DO - 10.2174/1874453201003010101
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:78449258690
SN - 1874-4532
VL - 3
SP - 101
EP - 104
JO - Open Ornithology Journal
JF - Open Ornithology Journal
IS - 1
ER -