How Long do Fruit-eating Birds Stay in the Plants Where They Feed?'

摘要: The foraging behavior of fruit-eating birds influences the reproductive success plants whose seeds they disperse. One important aspect their is amount time spend in fruiting plants. Qualitative models based on a bird's predation risk, diet, and breeding system have been proposed by Howe (1979) Pratt Stiles (1983) to explain how much trees. These predict that relatively large body size cryptic plumage should make less vulnerable enable them longer Additionally, specialize narrow fruit diet or monogamous systems also more because do not leave diversify attend leks display perches. This study presents data four bird species which were responsible for than 94 percent all feeding visits eight bird-dispersed tree family Lauraceae lower montane forests northwestern Costa Rica. Despite prominent differences size, coloration, method fruits, system, spent about same per visit (median lengths = 2.9-4.7 min) ate number fruits (1-3) visit. Differences between sexes within slight nonexistent. Single factors such as crypsis, ineffective predicting long An analysis processing times caloric value relation birds' metabolic rates indicates may be "free lunch" are often reputed be. Birds able meet energetic demands pure large, lipid-rich gut space limited it takes so process individual fruits.