Foraging Behaviour of the Black-Headed Heron at Kibimba Rice Scheme, Eastern Uganda | Advances in Re

Variations in the factors influencing the availability of prey have a direct influence on the spatial dispersion of foraging birds. In the different growth stages/phases of paddy rice, the feeding success and efficiency of the Black-headed Heron (Ardea melanocephala) were studied, namely: ploughed fields, phase 1 fields (2 weeks-1 month after sowing) and harvested fields. The Black-headed Heron's feeding success varied greatly over the rice growth period. A combination of factors such as water depth, waterbird abundance, nearest neighbor distance (NND) and food or prey abundance clarified this variance (except amphibian abundance). Statistical analysis was conducted using Genstat Version 8.1 (VSN Intl.2003) in which the difference in each behavioral measure was analyzed using a General Linear Mixed Model. The Black-headed Heron appears to be more beneficial for drilling in aggregations on rice paddies. The closeness to a conspecific had a positive impact on the Black-headed Heron's feeding efficiency as they foraged on (Ploughed fields). The data seem to generally suggest that there is a practical relationship between the Black-headed Heron and the abundance of prey and the absence of competition for intrusion on rice fields.

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