Food Selection by Willow Grouse Lagopus lagopus Chicks in Northern Norway
- 1 June 1980
- journal article
- research article
- Published by JSTOR in Ornis Scandinavica
- Vol. 11 (2) , 99-105
- https://doi.org/10.2307/3675914
Abstract
The food of willow grouse chicks, based on the content of 96 crops from 1974 and 1975, is given. The food items eaten were studied in relation to the availability. Highly preferred plant spp. were Vaccinium myrtillus, V. uliginosum and Polygonum viviparum. Adult Diptera and Hemiptera and Lepidoptera larvae were the most important animal food. Percent dry weight of animal food declined from some 60 in chicks 0-3 d [day] old, to < 5 in chicks older than 3 wk. Choice of invertebrates depended more on availability than did the choice of plants. The activity of the insects did not seem to affect the chicks'' choice of these food items, but very fast insects like Phoridae were little eaten. Willow grouse chicks selected for bigger than average-sized insect prey.This publication has 4 references indexed in Scilit:
- THE FOOD OF RED GROUSE CHICKS LAGOPUS L. SCOTICUSIbis, 1977
- Seasonal Changes in Diet of Spruce Grouse in Central AlbertaThe Journal of Wildlife Management, 1970
- The Niche Exploitation Pattern of the Blue‐Gray GnatcatcherEcological Monographs, 1967
- Population Studies on Red Grouse, Lagopus lagopus scoticus (Lath.) in North-East ScotlandJournal of Animal Ecology, 1963