During the winter in Panama, ie. during the nonbreeding season, the bay-breasted warbler Dendroica castanea is a generalized forager compared to the chestnut-sided warbler D. pensylvanica. Individuals of 4 other species of Dendroica (caerulescens, coronata, magnolia, tigrina) were tested in similar experiments to see how bay- breasted and chestnut-sided warblers compared with the genus as a whole. Consistent with field observations, chestnut-sided warblers obtained hidden mealworms from fewer unfamiliar objects than did bay- breasted warblers. They approached a similar number of objects, but were more timid and ambivalent. Individuals of all 6 species of Dendroica had consistent rankings in how rapidly they fed at the model microhabitats. This variation had a species-specific component, with bay-breasted warblers feeding most rapidly and chestnut-sided warblers feeding most hesitantly. The number of microhabitats visited by a warbler is thus the result of a dynamic interaction of attraction and fear. Individuals and species with greater aversion to novel foraging situations may be more specialized than less neophobic warblers.-from Author

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bay breasted Dendroica magnolia Dendroica pensylvanica Dendroica caerulescens Dendroica coronata Panama Magnoliaceae Castanea Dendroica castanea chestnut sided warbler Dendroica tigrina Magnolia warbler