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Comments on the Escape of Prey from Avian Predators
Author(s) -
Recher Harry F.,
Recher Judy A.
Publication year - 1968
Publication title -
ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.144
H-Index - 294
eISSN - 1939-9170
pISSN - 0012-9658
DOI - 10.2307/1934125
Subject(s) - predation , heron , foraging , ecology , biology , zoology
Observations on foraging herons indicate that only a small number of prey organisms manage to escape after being seized by a heron. Those prey which do escape mostly belong to a few genera which have elaborate post—capture escape behavior or possess physical structures which interfere with swallowing by the heron and which tend to prolong the interval between capture and swallowing. Individuals of these genera escape significantly more frequently than prey lacking such behavior or structures.