Relation of Bird Denities to Abundance of their Insect Prey in Salix Habitats

Abstract

Insectivorous birds at temperate latitudes may or may not be food limited, and the degree to which they are can be assessed, by hypothesis, from the degree to which the densities of insectivorous birds are correlated to their food supplies, both within a habitat type between different years of different productivities, and among habitat types of different productivities in the same year. Speculation on the food limitation of such consumer organisms has been extensive, but little data exists. My studies in Jackson Hole Wyoming are designed to provide data on bird density and on concommitant insect density.