Effect of brood size and age on the feeding behavior of adult and juvenile American Coots (Fulica americana)

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Abstract
From 6 July to 12 August 1984 we studied the effects of chick age and brood size on the foraging behavior of American Coots (Fulica americana). Adults dove more frequently and fed a greater proportion of prey items, captured by diving and pecking, to their chicks when the chicks were young. Adults with large broods fed their young more frequently than did adults with small broods. The frequency of chick dives increased and pecking frequency decreased as the chicks matured. Diving efficiency was greatest in young chicks and in chicks from larger broods, but pecking efficiency was greatest in old chicks, with brood size having no effect. Chicks remained close to their parents, and to emergent vegetation, when they were young and foraged farther away as they grew older. These trends seem to result from increased self-feeding capabilities and decreased dependence on parents as the chicks matured; brood size did not affect most behaviors.

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