Ardea
Official journal of the Netherlands Ornithologists' Union

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Zwarts L. & Blomert A.M. (1996) Daily metabolized energy consumption of Oystercatchers Haematopus ostralegus feeding on larvae of the crane fly Tipula paludosa. ARDEA 84 (A): 221-228
Oystercatchers feeding on grassland in spring mainly take leatherjackets, the larvae of the crane fly Tipula paludosa. The birds roost at night and feed for 40 to 60% of the daylight period. Their intake rate during feeding is 1 to 1.5 mg AFDW or 20 to 30 J s-1, which is rather low compared to the intake rates achieved on tidal flats. The digestibility of leatherjackets was estimated in three ways: ash and chlorophyll were used as natural digestibility markers, and prey remnants in the faeces were counted. On average, 86% of the ingested energy was assimilated. The daily metabolizable energy consumption was estimated to be 640 kJ, which is equivalent to 2.6 x BMR. The costs of living were relatively low because the birds lived in thermoneutral conditions and flew for only about 15 min a day.


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