SREL Reprint #2565

Incidental cache use by the brown thrasher, with notes on secondary cache use by additional avian species

Mark J. Komoroski

Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Drawer E, Aiken, SC 29802

Introduction: Food hoarding is a widespread and complex behavior (Vander Wall 1990). Most research has focused on cache placement or food recovery by the hoarding animal, or on cache theft by conspecifics or by other food-hoarding species. Here, I document the way in which Brown Thrashers (Toxostoma rufum) used caches likely made by jays or squirrels. I also observed other avian species consuming partial remains of previously opened caches, indicating that more participants may be involved in cache utilization than addressed by recent research. . . .

SREL Reprint #2565

Komoroski, M. J. 2001. Incidental cache use by the brown thrasher, with notes on secondary cache use by additional avian species. The Chat 65:68-70.

This information was provided by the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (srel.uga.edu).