Flock feeding and time budgets in the house sparrow ( Passer domesticus L.)

Abstract

A winter population of house sparrows at a farm fed on barley seed in two distinct types of habitat: cattlesheds and open fields. The risk of predation was apparently higher in the fields where birds scanned more frequently than in the cattlesheds and where scanning was negatively influenced by flock size but positively influenced by distance from cover. Individual time budgets were more influenced by flock size than by seed density in the fields but more influenced by seed density than by flock size in the cattlesheds. Higher rates of scanning resulted in greater flock vigilance and longer flight distances in the fields but flight distance was negatively influenced by the density of seeds on which birds were feeding.