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Table 2 Seasonal substrate selection by Iberian bullfinches in NW Spain referring to shrubs and trees, including climbing plants

From: Habitat use and space preferences of Eurasian Bullfinches (Pyrrhula pyrrhula) in northwestern Iberia throughout the year

Plant types

Avail. (%n)

Winter (Dec‒Feb)

Spring (Mar‒May)

Summer (June‒Aug)

Autumn (Sept‒Nov)

U (%n)

S

U (%n)

S

U (%n)

S

U (%n)

S

Ribes uva-crispa

0.2

0.0

‒ 1

0.2

0.0

0.0

‒ 1

0.0

‒ 1

Populus spp.

5.0

7.6

0.22

16.3

0.57

43.2

0.87

12.7

0.47

Salix spp.

3.2

0.2

‒ 0.89

6.0

0.32

11.0

0.58

5.1

0.24

Euonymus europaeus

5.1

3.4

‒ 0.21

1.6

‒ 0.54

0.4

‒ 0.86

0.5

‒ 0.83

Cytisus scoparius

0.0

0.0

‒

0.2

1.0

0.0

‒

0.0

‒

Corylus avellana

5.9

0.0

‒ 1

1.6

‒ 0.59

2.8

‒ 0.37

0.2

‒ 0.94

Castanea sativa

0.0

0.0

‒

0.2

1.0

0.4

1.0

0.0

‒

Quercus pyrenaica

0.8

0.0

‒ 1

1.9

0.41

1.5

0.31

1.0

0.11

Juglans regia

0.2

0.0

‒ 1

0.0

-1

0.9

0.64

0.5

0.43

Rubus spp.

16.2

26.9

0.31*

3.0

‒ 0.72

4.5

‒ 0.61

24.9

0.26*

Rosa spp.

10.1

0.0

‒ 1

0.2

‒ 0.96

1.5

‒ 0.76

0.2

‒ 0.96

Pyrus communis

0.05

0.0

‒ 1

1.9

0.95

0.0

‒ 1

0.0

‒ 1

Malus spp.

0.3

0.0

‒ 1

3.5

0.85

1.1

0.57

0.0

‒ 1

Crataegus monogyna

6.9

7.6

0.05

7.4

0.04

1.7

‒ 0.62

2.4

‒ 0.50

Prunus spinosa

8.0

11.5

0.20

20.9

0.50*

0.4

‒ 0.91

0.0

‒ 1

Prunus avium

0.8

1.2

0.20

23.3

0.95*

4.9

0.73

1.5

0.31

Rhamnus cathartica

0.2

0.0

‒ 1

0.5

0.43

0.0

‒ 1

0.0

‒ 1

Bryonia dioica

0.9

0.0

‒ 1

0.0

‒ 1

1.5

0.25

2.9

0.53

Ulmus minor

5.3

0.5

‒ 0.84

1.6

‒ 0.55

5.4

0.0099

4.6

‒ 0.07

Humulus lupulus

0.2

0.0

‒ 1

0.0

‒ 1

0.0

‒ 1

0.0

‒ 1

Cornus sanguinea

6.9

0.0

‒ 1

0.0

‒ 1

0.0

‒ 1

0.2

‒ 0.95

Solanum dulcamara

0.2

0.7

0.56

0.0

‒ 1

0.0

‒ 1

0.0

‒ 1

Fraxinus excelsior

1.05

10.0

0.83*

4.7

0.65

2.2

0.36

4.4

0.63

Ligustrum vulgare

9.7

11.0

0.07

0.0

‒ 1

8.2

‒ 0.09

18.3

0.35*

Lonicera periclymenum

1.5

6.6

0.65

0.2

‒ 0.77

8.0

0.70*

15.6

0.85*

Sambucus nigra

0.7

0.0

‒ 1

0.2

‒ 0.56

0.0

‒ 1

2.9

0.62

Viburnum opulus

6.0

12.7

0.39*

4.0

‒ 0.21

0.4

‒ 0.88

1.7

‒ 0.56

Hedera helix

4.6

0.0

‒ 1

0.5

‒ 0.81

0.0

‒ 1

0.0

‒ 1

n (number of records)

1817

409

 

430

 

535

 

409

 

Feeding records (%n)

 

92.7

 

67.9

 

46.2

 

81.2

 
  1. Substrate records (U: use) correspond to data on 2001‒2006. Each substrate record refers to an individual, sighted and identified by sex and age, perched on a plant type identified at genus or species level, whether eating or not. Each feeding record refers to a substrate record in which the individual was eating. See "Methods" for further clarification of record definition regarding substrate use. In winter and spring, males and females are considered together; in summer and autumn, males, females and juveniles together. See "Methods" for detailed information on assessment of plant species availability as perch substrate (Avail.). Selection index (S) (Jacobs 1974) varies between ‒ 1 (maximum negative selection) and 1 (maximum positive selection), with a value of 0 if selection does not occur (i.e. bullfinches used the plant species according to its availability). In bold: positive moderate selection (0.21 to 0.50). In bold and underlined: strong positive selection (0.51 to 1). In italics: moderate negative selection (‒ 0.21 to ‒ 0.50). In italics and underlined: strong negative selection (‒ 0.51 to ‒ 1). Only values for plants with certain relevance are highlighted, that is, %n > 5 regarding availability, use, or both. *: plant types, with moderate or strong positive selection, amongst the 5 most consumed foods in each season, considering shrubs and trees only, according to diet composition (Á. Hernández unpubl. data). The following species were identified for the plant taxa shown at genus level: Populus spp.: P. nigra, P. × canadensis, occasionally P. tremula; Salix spp.: S. fragilis, S. atrocinerea, S. × secalliana; Rubus spp.: R. ulmifolius, R. caesius; Rosa spp.: R. canina; Malus spp.: M. domestica, M. sylvestris. Prunus spinosa includes P. insititia
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