The size of minnow prey in the diet of young KingfishersAlcedo atthis

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Abstract
The fish diet of young Kingfishers Alcedo atthis on the River Roding near Abridge, Essex [UK] was assessed by analysing regurgitated bones collected from the nest tunnel. More than 3000 bones recovered from two nest sites in 1974, 1981 and 1982 revealed that nine fish species were eaten. Despite variation between samples, cyprinids consistently represented the main prey, with Minnow Phoxinus phoxinus the single most important species. Stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus was also a prominent prey item, particularly in 1981. Ignoring Stoneloach Noemacheilus barbatulus, the proportion of fish species found in riffles within the study area was similar to that gleaned from the nest tunnel samples. Strong correlation of live fork-length and wet weight to pharyngeal bone length enabled the size of Minnow prey to be determined accurately: analysis of 2276 pharyngeal bones produced a mean size of 54 mm fork-length and 1.5 g wet weight. The mean length was comparable to that of Bullheads Cottus gobio eaten by chicks more than 10 days old on the River Lesse in Belgium.

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