Nestling diet of the Common Magpie (Pica pica) in urban and agricultural habitats

Abstract

We compared the nestling diet of Magpies within (urban habitat) and adjacent to the city (rural habitat) of Prague, Czech Republic, using the neck-collar method.Although the nestling diet was different between urban and rural areas, invertebrates (mainly Coleoptera) were the most frequent prey in both areas. Anthropogenic food was more abundant in urban than in rural areas.

The nestling diet differed from the potentially available food supply in both urban and rural areas: Annelida and Lepidoptera were preferred, while Isopoda, Diplopoda, Orthoptera and Hymenoptera were neglected.

Keywords

• Nestling diet
• Common Magpie
• Pica pica
• urban habitat
• agricultural habitat