Abstract
MANY readers of Nature have taken part in a co-operative study of an apparently new feeding habit1, about which there are now some fairly clear-cut conclusions. Two or more greenfinches (Chloris chloris L.) will fly some distance to the garden shrub Daphne mezereum L., usually in June, to devour every one of its hundreds of large seeds in a strikingly avid and fearless manner. Green and immature fruits are preferred, when the stone of these drupe fruits is not quite so hard. Once a garden has been visited in this way, there is a 95 per cent chance that it will continue to be visited regularly and without intermission.
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References
Pettersson, M. L. R., Nature, 177, 709 (1956).
Boyd, A. W., Brit. Birds, 24, 329 (1930). Witherby, H. F., et al., “The Handbook of British Birds” (London, 1940).
Fisher, J., and Hinde, R. A., Brit. Birds, 42, 347 (1949).
Sutherland, E., Otago Daily Times (Feb. 6, 1958).
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PETTERSSON, M. Diffusion of a New Habit among Greenfinches. Nature 184, 649–650 (1959). https://doi.org/10.1038/184649a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/184649a0
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