Winter feeding preferences and personality vary with territory characteristics in wild great tits

Differences in habitat characteristics experienced during rearing
associate with variation in a range of behavioral phenotypes such as
exploratory behavior, foraging behavior and food preference. The
habitat-dependent selection hypothesis predicts that animals develop
behavioral characteristics fitted to their rearing environment. Yet,
little is known about how habitat characteristics during rearing shape how
animals face winter conditions and adjust their winter foraging behavior.
The aim of this study was to explore how fine-scale rearing habitat
characteristics associate with exploratory behavior, food selection and
foraging performance during winter. For this, we measured habitat
characteristics during the breeding season in territories of wild great
tits (Parus major), and tested first-year juvenile birds that fledged from
these territories for exploratory and foraging behavior at feeders during
winter. We found evidence that faster explorers were raised in territories
with lower quality-related habitat characteristics. In addition, fast
exploring fledglings visited the feeders significantly more (total
visits). Moreover, the rearing environment, via caterpillar availability
and tree species composition, determined diet selection during winter in
first year birds. These results show support for the habitat-dependent
selection hypothesis, since exploratory behavior as well as food
preferences during winter associate with habitat features of the rearing
territories during development. This pattern can be caused either by the
kinds of foods prevalent at these sites or because of intrinsic individual
differences. Further experiments are needed to disentangle these two.