Diet and Foraging Behaviour of Red-browed Finches Neochmia temporalis Near Newcastle, New South Wales

1996 ◽  
Vol 96 (4) ◽  
pp. 245-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.K. Todd
Keyword(s):  
Foraging Behaviour ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
South Wales

Foraging behaviour and habitat use of the feathertail glider (Acrobates pygmaeus) at Waratah Creek, New South Wales

1995 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 457 ◽  
Author(s):  
RL Goldingay ◽  
RP Kavanagh
Keyword(s):  
Foraging Behaviour ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Significant Preference ◽  
Habitat Types ◽  
Breast Height ◽  
Nectar Feeding ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Frequency Of Use ◽  
Production Forests

Observations were made of the foraging behaviour of the feathertail glider (Acrobates pygmaeus) at Waratah Creek in south-eastern New South Wales (NSW). Gliders were observed on 164 occasions, including 42 observations of feeding, 41 observations of moving along a substrate and 68 observations of gliding to a tree, an understorey plant or to the ground. On the remaining occasions, gliders were lost from view before any information was recorded. Most (91%) feeding observations occurred in live eucalypts. When feeding in eucalypts, 61% of observations were of gliders searching under loose shedding bark and 32% were of gliders engaged in foliage gleaning. Foraging amongst loose bark is suggested to represent feeding on honeydew and arthropods while foliage gleaning is indicative of gliders engaged in feeding on manna, honeydew, lerps and arthropods. Nectar feeding was uncommon and only 3% of trees in which gliders were observed were flowering. In contrast, 42% of these trees showed signs of recent bark shed. Two observations were of gliders foraging on the ground, suggesting that arthropods may also be captured there. Comparison of the frequency of use of different tree species with the abundance of those species showed a highly significant preference for E. fastigata, while other species were used in proportion to their abundance. Analysis also showed that gliders used trees in the smallest of three size classes (<40 cm diameter at breast height) less often than expected on the basis of the abundance of these trees. Overall, gliders used the six different habitat types in the study area in proportion to their abundance but showed significant seasonal differences in the use of these habitats. These results permit consideration of the management requirements of the feathertail glider in the timber production forests of NSW. It is concluded that the requirements of this species are catered for by existing management prescriptions.

Foraging Behavior of Glossy Black-Cockatoos

1989 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 467 ◽  
Author(s):  
MN Clout ◽  
MN Clout
Keyword(s):  
Foraging Behavior ◽  
Seed Weight ◽  
Foraging Behaviour ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
High Ratio ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Eucalypt Forests ◽  
Total Seed

The foraging behaviour of glossy black-cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus lathami) was studied in eucalypt forests near Eden, New South Wales, Australia, from June 1982 to February 1983. In this area, the cockatoos fed solely on Allocasuarina littoralis seeds that they extracted from closed cones, leaving characteristic feeding litter beneath favoured trees. The cockatoos bred in winter and apparently raised their young entirely on A. littoralis seeds. They spent 88% of the day foraging. The basis on which the cockatoos selected particular A. littoralis trees in which to forage was investigated. They chose trees with larger cone crops but showed no evidence of selecting trees on the basis of cone size. They concentrated their foraging in trees bearing cones with a high ratio of total seed weight to cone weight, which is an index of the potential return (i.e. seeds) from each cone-opening effort.

Spatial and temporal differences in the foraging behaviour of birds in a mixed eucalypt forest and woodland on the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harry F. Recher
Keyword(s):  
Foraging Behaviour ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Temporal Differences ◽  
Eucalypt Forest ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Spatial Differences ◽  
Avian Biodiversity ◽  
Temporal And Spatial ◽  
Eucalypt Forests

ABSTRACT In Australia’s eucalypt forests and woodlands, co-habiting birds differ in the foraging manoeuvres or methods used to search for and take prey, the substrates and plants on which prey are found, and the heights at which foraging takes place. On the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, eucalypt forest and woodland birds foraged on different substrates between study plots, seasons, and years. As a result, the proportions of foraging manoeuvres differed in space and time as different foraging methods were used to obtain food from different substrates. Of the 32 species tested for the summer of 1980/81, 24 foraged differently between one or more of the three plots studied. In winter, nine of 15 species on two plots foraged differently between plots. Differences in foraging were found between seasons and/or years for 20 species, including when data from individual plots were combined to test for differences in foraging between summer and winter. Of 70 comparisons of foraging behaviour for individual plots, that is, excluding combined plot data, 50 differed between seasons and/or years. Significant spatial and temporal differences in foraging were recorded for all foraging guilds. Bark and foliage foragers differed most frequently between pairs of plots in all seasons and years, with aerial foragers showing the fewest differences. Between seasons and years differences were greatest among ground-foragers and foliage-foragers where respectively 76% and 80% of intraspecies comparisons on individual plots differed. The differences were the result of temporal and spatial differences in the types and abundances of foraging substrates and the prey available to foraging birds. Each species has its own unique requirements and management targeted at one or a few species will disadvantage others. Consequently temporal and spatial habitat heterogeneity is necessary for the conservation of avian biodiversity.

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