I wanted to see the difference in the food preferences or the shift in the foraging behaviour of a bird species between the individuals who solely depends on the foods available in the wild habitats (its innate food habits) and those who depends mostly on the human left overs as an alternative source of food. I also wanted to know is there any disruption to their innate foraging preferences or food preferences change because of this?
Attached is an article from Sosted et al. (2017) published in Bird Study that may have some relevant findings for you. The authors conclude that some species in urban environments may show a preference for carbohydrate-rich food (i.e., bread), even when offered more protein rich items, like nuts.
Hello Mohommad;
You might find some interesting information on Google Scholar. I tried this query "Home bird feeders, unusual diets". "Urban scavenging, birds" might also get some useful stuff. There were some relevant entries. Regarding Micah's reply...this morning I watched ravens (in Southern California, USA) eating discarded food from a restaurant. It included fried potatoes, bits of bread and some cheese. That is common on the ground in the parking areas of the local college.
Best regards, Jim Des Lauriers
Work on American Crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos) in New York state suggests that urban/suburan crows may be nutrient limited (but not calorie limited) compared to their rural counterparts. Resulting in smaller nestlings with lower calcium and protein availability in the urban/suburban population. Article Growth and nutritional state of American Crow nestlings vary...
Regards,
Andria
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