WILLOW PTARMIGAN CHICKS CONSUME MOSS SPOROPHYTE CAPSULES


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Authors: MARTIN, K; HIK, D
Year: 1992
Journal: J. Field Ornithol. 63: 355-358
Title: WILLOW PTARMIGAN CHICKS CONSUME MOSS SPOROPHYTE CAPSULES
Abstract: Willow Ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus) chicks consumed sporophyte capsules of a moss, Distichium inclinatum, at La Perouse Bay, near Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. Six chicks (6-16 d old) were examined over 3 yr, and crops of all chicks contained moss capsules. In two chicks, capsules represented a substantial proportion of the total crop contents. Crops contained little animal matter. Moss sporophyte capsules may provide an easily accessible forage for rapidly growing grouse chicks of northern populations.
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