The storing of food is a common behaviour in the American kestrel ( Falco sparverius), a small, cavity-nesting falcon whose prey is comprised mainly of insects and small mammals. It may be a mechanism by which breeding birds ensure a sufficient food supply crucial to reproductive success. / In 1996, caching behaviour of 10 single females, 10 single males and 20 paired captive American kestrels was recorded over the breeding season at the Avian Science and Conservation Centre of McGill University. / Cache site preference and seasonal influence on caching frequencies were studied in 8 hand-raised, male kestrels in summer, fall and winter from 1996--1997. Caching frequency during the three seasons was significantly different with most occurring in fall, fewer in winter, and still fewer in summer. / Memory for locations of cached prey was tested in 7 hand-raised males, three days after a caching event, from July to September 1997. The birds located their own caches significantly better than those caches placed by the experimenter. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.30676 |
| Date | January 1999 |
| Creators | Kerr, Leslie. |
| Contributors | Bird, David (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Science (Department of Natural Resource Sciences.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001764956, proquestno: MQ64380, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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