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Ornithological Science
Abstract
Abstract
Generalist predators are able to exploit diverse prey depending on its spatial and temporal availability. Here, we examined how the diet of a generalist fish-eating predator, the Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis, varied at the small spatial scale and throughout the breeding season. Analysis of debris collected from six nests showed that the diet composition of five breeding pairs significantly differed, although they bred in close proximity. Prey choice also differed between birds that reared their young at the beginning and at the end of the breeding season. Overall, kingfishers consumed seven fish species, with Roach Rutilus rutilus as the most frequent prey taken both at the beginning and at the end of the breeding season.
We would like to thank Biljana Mitrović, Sanja Alaburić, Daliborka Stanković, Aleksandar Vlajić, Aleksandar Stojanović, Miloš Milivojević, Tamara Karan and Saša Marić for their help with the field work. Also, we would like to thank Ljiljana Tomović and Mirodrag Jovanović for their help with identification of amphibian bones. In addition, we thank two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on the manuscript. PS was funded by grant 173025 from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of Serbia.
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