Knoppenconsumptie van eenstijlige meidoorn Crataegus monogyna door Goudvinken Pyrrhula pyrrhula

In the winter of 1998/99, Bullfinches foraging on hawthorns were studied. The birds consumed 15.7 buds per minute when actively foraging; this intake rate is smaller than mentioned in Newton (1964). One of my Bullfinches swallowed on average 11.1 buds/minute (uninterrupted observation time 88 minutes, 982 buds eaten). When having foraged exclusively on hawthorn, this bird may have eaten c. 5000 buds per day.