Talk:Mixed-species foraging flock

Suggested improvements
Some things this article could use:
 * A better title?
 * More mention of mixed flocks of seabirds feeding on fish, seed-eating birds feeding together, white egrets attracting herons?
 * A description from someone who has actually seen such flocks in the tropics! What's it like to be in or next to one?
 * A photograph (if possible) or a recording, or at least a link to one.
 * Material on ant-swarm followers, possibly from Army ant?
 * Do thrushes or mimic thrushes join these flocks? None of the ones in Howell and Webb do.
 * Added (for S.America, but probably holds true elsewhere as per Howell & Webb) Dysmorodrepanis (talk) 19:11, 18 November 2008 (UTC)

&mdash;JerryFriedman 20:17, 24 February 2006 (UTC)
 * I agree, and here are a few more

Shyamal (talk) 08:01, 18 January 2009 (UTC)
 * a definition - I am not sure every flock of more than one species qualifies
 * ecological principles and hypotheses on the assembly rules etc.
 * example aggregations and compositions from different parts of the world in one section rather than the current organization.


 * The new title works for me. I'm not sure what your last bullet means.  I think one organizational problem is that the densely packed blue species names choke the reader, so if there's a way to avoid that, it should be explored.  (But I haven't brought myself to take any of those names out.) &mdash;JerryFriedman  (Talk) 06:40, 20 January 2009 (UTC)
 * I was thinking of perhaps a table or graphic providing the stratifications and guilds involved - ground foragers, flycatchers, gleaners, canopy top species etc typical of the Old-World and the New-World (with a few representative species linked perhaps). One thing I noticed is that the "foraging" seems to be used for the forest birds while "mixed-species feeding" is used with gulls and seabirds and that phenomenon seems less complicated than the forest form (which has been the subject of far more enquiry I though but Google scholar lists 12 matches for the exact phrase) Shyamal (talk) 06:58, 20 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Maybe this article could use a section on why these groups exist (e.g. better foraging, enhanced predator detection, 'safety in numbers') and consequences thereof (shifts in foraging behaviour for example).
 * Examples of composition in mixed-species flocks can be found in articles by Douglass H. Morse, Richard L. Hutto, Rauno V. Alatalo. Calonectris (talk) 12:16, 16 April 2010 (UTC)
 * There's a little about advantages in the article now. Any sources anyone can find, on either advantages or composition, would be great, imho.  It's not something I'm going to work on right now, though. &mdash;JerryFriedman  (Talk) 19:06, 16 April 2010 (UTC)

New and old stuff
The new material added anonymously needs to be checked and incorporated better.

Also, can we take out all the scientific names? We have links, after all, and the scientific names make the article even harder to read. &mdash;JerryFriedman (Talk) 18:37, 29 October 2010 (UTC)


 * Incidentally, my edit summary should have said, "Please don't remove sourced material without discussing it first." &mdash;JerryFriedman (Talk) 20:15, 29 October 2010 (UTC)


 * I agree with removing the scientific names.--Brambleshire (talk) 05:13, 30 October 2010 (UTC)

Refs on benefits of flocking
Thanks to Jimfbleak, two papers on feeding success in mixed-species winter flocks in Spain:



&mdash;JerryFriedman (Talk) 01:18, 31 October 2010 (UTC)

Should there be a mention of gulls in this article?
I mean, pretty much any species of gull will flock with any other species of gull when feeding (well, from my own observations of Herring, LBB, GBB, Common and Black-headed Gulls all milling around together).... --Kurt Shaped Box (talk) 23:02, 19 May 2011 (UTC)
 * I think those gull flocks are examples of the "feeding aggregations" that the lead distinguishes from the flocks this article is about. &mdash;JerryFriedman (Talk) 02:43, 20 May 2011 (UTC)
 * I agree with JerryFriedman, the behavior of gulls does not fit the dynamic. This article is about an aspect of bird behavior in which the group dynamic is more than a mere aggregation of individuals. I think a group of gulls milling around together is really just a matter of them being temporarily in close proximity. Individual gulls come and go as they please, they aren't members of a group. Now that I think about it, this article doesn't really explain that very well. The article goes straight to the science. It could use a bit more explanation in plain English.--Brambleshire (talk) 16:03, 21 May 2011 (UTC)
 * Not sure if there has been a proper definition of what used to be termed in lay-birder-lingo as "mixed-hunting party" - these are self-organized to actively seek (not so easily accessible) food whereas opportunistic aggregations at (readily available) food sources are clearly outside of that concept. So yes, gulls, ducks and birds at a feeder do not qualify, but then it would be good to get a properly sourced definition. Shyamal (talk) 16:52, 21 May 2011 (UTC)

Just came here to ask this question about marine birds in general. In Harrison & Whitehose 2011, the authors seem to indicate that there might be some overlap between marine bird mixed-species feeding flocks and the definitions used in this wikipedia article. "In the marine environment, seabird flocks have been described as temporary feeding associations (Munn & Terborgh 1979); however, this does not correctly identify the strength of the relationships between some species. There exist simple transient foraging flocks of seabirds, but also mixed-species foraging flocks in which the species at the core of the flocks show strong interspecific affinities (Murphy, 1936, Sealy, 1973, Hoffman et al., 1981, Harrison et al., 1991). In the Southern Ocean the tube-nosed seabirds (Procellariiformes) occur more often in mixed-species associations than apart from them (Murphy 1936). There exist poorly understood interdependencies that reflect differing flight dynamics, diving abilities and sensory capacities. Differences exist between species in their ability to find prey either directly (e.g. olfactory capability across different spatial scales; Nevitt 2000) or indirectly (e.g. observation of other predators; Harrison et al. 1991). For example, black-browed albatrosses, Thalassarche melanophrys, are unambiguous leaders in mixed-species flocks feeding on Antarctic krill, Euphausia superba, around South Georgia (Harrison et al. 1991), interactions with a small group of other species suggesting coevolved species affiliations. In this case, the black-browed albatrosses appear to be better able to track the foraging activities of fur seals, Arctocephalus gazella, and macaroni penguins, Eudyptes chrysolophus, which drive krill to the surface. Seabirds have varied adaptive interspecific relationships with other seabird species, with predatory fish such as tuna, with seals and with cetaceans (Au and Pitman, 1986, Harrison et al., 1991, Pitman and Ballance, 1992). Mixed-species seabird flocks vary in complexity and the spectrum of interspecific relationships represented has been understated in the literature." — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jesseseeem (talk • contribs) 19:32, 29 July 2020 (UTC)

Pass right through houses
Could mention nothing will get in their way, even houses which they might squeeze in through cracks, as they move along...but then can't figure out how to get out of! Jidanni (talk) 10:35, 23 March 2023 (UTC)

"Study effects of mixed-species feeding flocking" listed at Redirects for discussion
The redirect [//en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Study_effects_of_mixed-species_feeding_flocking&redirect=no Study effects of mixed-species feeding flocking] has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at  until a consensus is reached. &#32; Headbomb {t · c · p · b} 23:31, 17 June 2023 (UTC)