Dietary comparisons of red winged blackbirds agelaius phoeniceus brown headed cowbirds molothrus ater and european starlings sturnus vulgaris in north central ohio usa
Williams, R.E.; Jackson, W.B.
Ohio Journal of Science 81(5-6): 217-225
1981
ISSN/ISBN: 0030-0950 Accession: 005148143
Stomach contents from 99 red-winged blackbirds, 97 brown-headed cowbirds and 69 European starlings collected along the southern edge of Lake Erie in north-central Ohio were compared using aggregate volume measurements. Agricultural products comprised 73.9%, 54.8% and 28.1% of the redwing, cowbird and starling diets, respectively. Corn accounted for 70.8, 26.2 and 3.3% of the diets, respectively. Animal material represented 7.6, 3.4 and 30.3% of the diets, respectively. Injurious insects comprised 13.5% of the starling diet but were relatively unimportant in the diets of redwings and cowbirds. Beneficial arthropods were relatively unimportant in all the diets.