American Robins (Turdus migratorius) depend on fruit in fall and winter and, accordingly, juvenile robins must quickly learn to acquire this resource. We compared the foraging abilities of juveniles and adults foraging for mulberries (Morus spp.), the first fruit that ripens after juveniles have become independent. Juveniles were significantly less successful than adults at obtaining mulberries; 23% of juveniles' attempts to remove fruit were successful compared to 69% of attempts by adults to remove fruit. As a result, juveniles consumed 0.4 mulberries/min whereas adults consumed 2.8 mulberries/min. Further investigations of juveniles' ability to forage for fruit are needed to understand the mechanisms involved in the development of skills to forage for this vital resource.
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1 March 2008
Comparisons between Juvenile and Adult American Robins Foraging for Mulberry Fruit
E. Natasha Vanderhoff,
Perri K. Eason
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The Wilson Journal of Ornithology
Vol. 120 • No. 1
March 2008
Vol. 120 • No. 1
March 2008