Life Sciences Commons^™

Interacting Prey Characteristic Effects On Kestrel Predatory Behavior, Frederick F. Knowlton, Leonard F. Ruggiero, Carl D. Cheney

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Prey selection was assessed based on 116 experimental trials in which six kestrels were presented pairs of mice. Independent variables included pelage color (black and white), morphology (familiar and unfamiliar), and movement (aberrant, normal, and none). Each prey item represented a combination of three treatments, i.e., one per variable. In general, black pelage was preferred to white and familiar morphology was preferred to unfamiliar. An important interaction occurred between movement and morphology. Kestrel selection was low for moving unfamiliar prey but high for nonmoving unfamiliar prey. The highest rates of attack were elicited by moving familiar prey. It was concluded …