Time–activity budgets and site selection of White-headed DucksOxyura leucocephalaat Burdur Lake, Turkey in late winter

Abstract

Diurnal and nocturnal time—activity budgets were compiled for White-headed Ducks at their most important wintering area, Burdur Lake in Turkey, during February and March 1993. During the day, ducks spent 28% of the time feeding, 57% resting, 11% in locomotion, 4% preening and 1% in alert behaviour. No courtship behaviour was observed. Resting peaked in the middle of the day. As wave-height increased, feeding and swimming increased and\ud resting decreased. At night, 92% of time was spent feeding. Sites used by White-headed Ducks held a higher biomass of food items (benthic chironomid larvae) than other parts of the lake. Movement of individuals and marked differences in diurnal time budgets occurred between sites, as birds concentrated in flocks for resting and dispersed to feed. The proportion of birds resting increased with the number of birds present, both within and between sites. Feeding was concentrated at those sites supporting a higher biomass of chironomids for a given depth.Peer reviewe