The effect of a typhoon on the flocking and foraging behavior of tits

Abstract

A typhoon, that struck Kyushu, the southernmost of the four main islands of Japan, in September 1999, causing extensive wind damage to forests, was found to have affected the flocking and foraging behavior of Varied Parus varius and Great Tits P. major. After the typhoon had passed, the tits tended to participate in mixed- species flocks and preferred to forage in the lower parts, rather than in the upper parts, of the trees. Also the proportion of plant products in the diet of the Varied Tit was re- duced. The population and average flock size of the tits, however, remained stable even after the typhoon. The abundance of plant products as food resources remained unchanged despite severe damage to the trees, but the vegetation cover was reduced, which probably increased the predation risk. The increase of mixed-species flocking may have resulted from the increased risk of predation; mixed-species flocking is thought to increase vigilance and foraging efficiency while not increasing intraspe- cific competition. Changes in diet and preferred foraging sites were also consistent with the increased predation risk hypothesis. We conclude that the changes in forag- ing and flocking behavior after the typhoon were mainly due to the increased preda- tion risk caused by the reduced vegetation cover.