Willow ptarmigan chicks consume moss sporophyte capsules

Willow Ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus) Science Article 5

abstract

Willow Ptarmigan( Lagopus lagopus) chicks consumes sporophyt capsules, a moss, istichiumin clinatuma, at La Perouse Bay, near Churchill, Manitoba, Canada.S ix chicks(6 -16 days old) were examined over 3 yr, and crops of all chicks containemd moss capsules.In two chicks, capsules represented a substantial portion of the total crop contentsCrops contained little animal matter.Moss sporophyte capsules may provide an easily accessible forage for rapidly growing grouse chicks of northern populations.

K. Martin & D. Hik, J. Field Ornithol., 63(3):355-358

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