FOOD PREFERENCE OF LONG-BILLED CORELLAS Cacatua tenuirostris IN AVIARY EXPERIMENTS
| Posted: |
22/07/2021 |
| Author(s): |
C. A. Marks, J. L. Barnett, K. A. Waples |
The long-billed corella causes extensive damage to crops in western Victoria. In an attempt to deter birds
from vulnerable crops an appropriate bait is being sought for use in field trials of a chemical deterrent. Food
preference was examined in captivity to determine bait acceptability in free-choice and no-choice trials. Corellas
(n = 10) were offered 4 feeds simultaneously in free-choice trials; whole and hulled oats and whole and hulled
sunflower seeds. A significant difference was found in daily consumption between feeds (F = 88.24, df = 319,
P < 0.001). Although hulled oats were consumed in significantly higher amounts than all other feeds, there was
some individual variation in food preference. Overall, mean daily diet comprised 62 per cent hulled oats, 17 per
cent whole oats, 12 per cent hulled sunflower and 9 per cent whole sunflower. A no-choice experiment offering
either hulled oats or hulled sunflower seeds found daily consumption of hulled oats was significantly higher than
that of hulled sunflower seeds (t = 6.01, df = 98, P < 0.001 ), however daily energy intake in Mj was not significantly
different. Hulled oats offer a suitable and practical bait for use in field trials as it is readily consumed by captive
corellas, it is economical and widely available and may be an appropriate vehicle for chemical deterrents. Further
studies are recommended to address non-target species issues and to test bait acceptance in the field.
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