Vol. 61, 2022

(update: 2022.5.26)

Foraging Strategy of Black-faced Spoonbill During Breeding Period in Rice Fields of Korea

¹Department of Biology, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 02447, Republic of Korea; Current address: Research Center for Endangered Species, National Institute of Ecology, Yeongyang 36531, Republic of Korea. E-mail: u9309@nie.re.kr (Yoo)
²National Institute of Biological Resources, Incheon 22689, Republic of Korea. E-mail: namhk2703@korea.kr (Nam)
³Research Center for Endangered Species, National Institute of Ecology, Yeongyang 36531, Republic of Korea. *Correspondences: E-mail: bfskwon@nie.re.kr (Kwon).
E-mail: hjkyung@nie.re.kr (Hwang)
⁴Department of Biology, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 02447, Republic of Korea. *Correspondences: E-mail: jcyoo@khu.ac.kr (Kwon)

^§SYY and HKN contributed equally to this work.
Received 23 September 2021 / Accepted 4 May 2022
Communicated by Chih-Ming Hung

Rice fields are important habitats for a variety of water birds, and this importance is increasing with the destruction of natural wetlands. This study was conducted to understand the foraging strategy of the black-faced spoonbill, an internationally endangered species, in rice fields. To achieve this objective, the feeding success rate of black-faced spoonbills in rice fields was analyzed considering the species’ feeding behavior, environmental factors, and external factors. The number of sweeps per minute and number of steps per minute were evaluated as features of feeding behavior; rice field type, water level, and rice height as environmental factors; and the size of a flock and number of other species in the fields when black-faced spoonbills were feeding as external factors. The feeding success rate of the black-faced spoonbills increased as they were feeding while moving at a fast pace in a rice field with a water level of 10 cm or below, rice height of 15 cm, and without herons (competitor species). These factors may be an effective strategy to increase the probability of food acquisition by black-faced spoonbills in rice fields. Therefore, to allow black-faced spoonbills in breeding season to use the rice fields for feeding, it is necessary to maintain a water level of 15 cm or less before transplanting rice. Moreover, the use of pesticides must be minimized to increase abundance of the food resources in rice fields.

Key words: Black-faced spoonbill, Rice field, Foraging strategy, Breeding season, Korean Peninsula.

Citation: Yoo S-Y, Nam H-K, Hwang J-K, Yoo J-C, Kwon I-K. 2022. Foraging strategy of black-faced spoonbill during breeding period in rice fields of Korea. Zool Stud 61:35.