干旱区生态环境知识资源中心

The availability of seeds that can be consumed profitably is an important determinant of habitat quality for granivorous birds. In order to gain experience with seed selection studies in sparrows, we performed a pilot study with the objective of investigating the effect of different seed characteristics (size, color, visibility, nutrient composition) on seed selection by house sparrows (Passer domesticus). The pilot study consisted of seed selection experiments in two phases. In Phase I, nine commercial seed types were offered simultaneously for different time periods. Phase II consisted of six trials with different combinations of three seed types that varied on one of the three characteristics of interest. Of the characteristics under study, seed size was the only characteristic influencing seed choice. House sparrows preferred seeds of intermediate size in all trials. The results of this study provide indications for future seed selection experiments and show the importance of taking husk characteristics and handling time into account.