Diet and Foraging

Main Foods Taken

Specific information is only available for chicks in Ecuador (29 Reyes, N., K. Mena, I. Olmedo, H. Cadena-Ortiz, and N. Luzuriaga-Neira (2022). El contenido estomacal de pichones revela la dieta de la Bandurria andina (Theristicus branickii) en un área protegida altoandina. Ornitología Neotropical 33:166-169. Close ), which were fed small mammals (Sylvilagus andinus) and invertebrates, including moths (Lepidoptera), ground beetles (Carabidae), centipedes (Lithobiidae), snails (Gastropoda), and earthworms (Lumbricidae).

Microhabitat for Foraging

In one study in Ecuador, most foraging occurred in short grass or in cushion mires (bogs) (27 West, B. (2014). New observations of the Andean Ibis (Theristicus branickii, Threskiornithidae): Distribution, movements, and behavior near Volcan Antisana. Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection. 2019. Close ).

Food Capture and Consumption

Birds foraged both by gleaning prey from the grass and ground as well as probing into the soil with their bills. In one study, mean foraging group size was 3.1 birds ± 0.2 (range 1–7 birds); in larger groups, individuals would either forage together in pairs or separated from other individuals by at least 30 m (27 West, B. (2014). New observations of the Andean Ibis (Theristicus branickii, Threskiornithidae): Distribution, movements, and behavior near Volcan Antisana. Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection. 2019. Close ).

Major Food Items

There is very little information on the diet of the species. What is known comes from analysis of stomach contents of chicks in Ecuador (n = 2 individuals). From each chick, 60 and 81 prey items were counted, respectively. Prey identified were mostly invertebrates, including Noctuidae (Lepidoptera) larvae (53% of prey items, representing 2.17% of the biomass), adults (6% of prey items, and 1.04% of biomass) and larvae (11% of prey items, and 0.67% of biomass) of Lebia paramicola (Coleoptera; Carabidae), centipedes (Chilopoda; Lithobiidae; 1% of prey items, 0.01 % of the biomass), Prosobranchia snails (Hydrobiidae; Gastropoda; 4.3% of prey items, and 1.3% of biomass), earthworm eggs (Lumbricidae; Clitellata; 10% of individuals, and 0.1% of biomass), but one vertebrate, Sylvilagus andinus, was also identified (1% of prey items, and 10.12% of biomass; 29 Reyes, N., K. Mena, I. Olmedo, H. Cadena-Ortiz, and N. Luzuriaga-Neira (2022). El contenido estomacal de pichones revela la dieta de la Bandurria andina (Theristicus branickii) en un área protegida altoandina. Ornitología Neotropical 33:166-169. Close ).

Quantitative Analysis

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