Some models of central place foraging relate the time taken to deliver a prey to the selectivity of the forager. If birds have to travel longer, they are expected to take only larger prey. Prey selectivity may also increase if birds have more time available for search activities. I tested this last hypothesis by experimentally increasing the food available to Blue Tits during young rearing. Insect larvae were offered to breeding adults from egg hatching to fledging of the young. Provisioning rates and prey size were studied by videotaping. In experimentally overfed broods, part of the additional food was delivered to their nestlings by the adults, while the rate of feeding with natural prey decreased compared to unmanipulated pairs. Overfed males delivered larger insect larvae than control males, while females showed no response to the treatment. Overfed males could deliver larger prey at late chick ages (when presumably the chicks' demand is higher) than controls, suggesting that control males were time- (tor energy) constrained. Moreover, overfed parents appeared to choose relatively more prey that may be important in the chicks' diet. The results show that prey selectivity is related to time (or energy) budgets.
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