Experimental fruit removal does not affect territory structure of wintering Hermit Thrushes

Food is generally considered to be the primary resource structuring winter territories in migrant songbirds, but there is little experimental evidence to support this. In southeastern Louisiana, ripe fruits, consumed opportunistically in the absence of preferred arthropod resources, are a primary food resource for wintering Hermit Thrushes (Catharus guttatus).

David R. Brown and Jennifer A. Long, J. Field Ornithol. 77(4):404-408, 2006