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Commensal feeding associations between Yellow Wagtails Motacilla flava and cattle
Author(s) -
Källander H.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
ibis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.933
H-Index - 80
eISSN - 1474-919X
pISSN - 0019-1019
DOI - 10.1111/j.1474-919x.1993.tb02815.x
Subject(s) - foraging , biology , predation , zoology , commensalism , herbivore , ecology , reproductive success , demography , genetics , population , sociology , bacteria
Commensal ‘beating’ associations in which one party exploits prey disturbed by the other seem to be fairly common in terrestrial habitats (e.g. Dean and MacDonald 1981). Most such commensal relations appear to be opportunistic phenomena, rather than regularly occurring associations with possible fitness effects for the commensal, but few of them have been studied in detail. Exceptions are a few apparently very regular associations, for example those between birds and army ants (e.g. Willis 1966, Willis & Oniki 1978), between anis Crotophaga spp and cattle (Rand 1953, Smith 1971) and, especially, between Cattle Egrets Bubulcus ibis and large herbivorous mammals (for references, see Kushlan 1978). In the latter two cases, clear advantages in the form of higher food intake rates have been demonstrated for individuals foraging commensally (Rand 1953, Heatwole 1965, Smith 1971, Dinsmore 1973, Grubb 1976, Burger & Gochfeld 1982).