Dieta frugívora de los Papamoscas Cerrojillos (Ficedula hypoleuca) en paso otoñalrevisión y datos inéditos

Resum

Knowledge about frugivory in the Pied Flycatcher is reviewed, and data from NW Spain on consumption by this species of Dogwood Cornus sanguinea fruits in September are presented. Fleshy fruits of at least 22 plant species appeared in the species' diet, most of them smaller in diameter than its gape width and consumed during autumn passage. Fruits were mainly taken in flight (88% for Dogwood). Average occurrence frequency and volume of fruit in faeces reached as much as 36-85% and 35% respectively, outstanding values but far from those registered for typical avian frugivores such as Sylvia warblers and Blackbirds Turdus merula. Pied Flycatchers ate 1.4f 0.5 Dogwood fruits per feeding visit (n= 19 feeding visits). Dogwood fruits, very rich in lipids, were positively selected with regard to other fruits and have appeared in most of the studies on the diet of migrant Pied Flycatchers in northern Iberia, presumably playing an important role in the fattening process of stop-over individuals.