The size of minnow prey in the diet of young Kingfishers Alcedo atthis

摘要: The fish diet of young Kingfishers Alcedo atthis on the River Roding near Abridge, Essex was assessed by analysing regurgitated bones collected from nest tunnel. More than 3000 recovered two sites in 1979, 1981 and 1982 revealed that nine species were eaten. Despite variation between samples, cyprinids consistently represented main prey, with Minnow Phoxinus phoxinus single most important species. Stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus also a prominent prey item, particularly 1981. Ignoring Stoneloach Noemacheilusbarbatulus, proportion found riffles within study area similar to gleaned tunnel samples. Strong correlation live fork-length wet weight pharyngeal bone length enabled size be determined accurately: analysis 2276 produced mean 54 mm 1.5 g weight. comparable Bullheads Cottus gobio eaten chicks more ...