Wren Troglodytes troglodytes preys on aquatic invertebrates
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21248/corax.v25.130Abstract
On February 5, 2019 a Wren was observed at a small stream north of Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The bird perched on small twicks or on the riverbank, observed the water surface, and snapped small aquatic animals out of the water. One prey item was presumably a freshwater shrimp Gammarus spec. In literature, preying on aquatic invertebrates by land-passerines is only described in a few cases, but a study from Japan points out the importance of aquatic invertebrates as food of some songbird species in winter, especially the Wren. Therefore, this behaviour could be a more common fact in Schleswig-Holstein, too.
References
Bauer, H.-G., E. Bezzel & W. Fiedler 2005. Das Kompendium der Vögel Mitteleuropas. Aula-Verlag, Wiebelsheim.
Dallmann, M. 1987: Der Zaunkönig, Die Neue Brehm Bücherei 577. Ziemsen, Wittenberg Lutherstadt.
Glutz von Blotzheim, U. N. & K. M. Bauer 1985. Handbuch der Vögel Mitteleuropas. Bd. 10/II. Aula-Verlag, Wiesbaden.
Nakano, S. & M. Murakami 2001. Reciprocal subsidies: Dynamic interdependence between terrestrial and aquatic food webs. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) Vol. 98: 166–170. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.98.1.166
Reckin, J. 1966. Zaunkönig frisst Bachflohkrebse. Falke 13: 245–246.

