Diet composition and prey choice by the red-backed shrike Lanius collurio in western Poland

We investigated diet and prey choice in a population of red-backed shrike (Lanius collurio) living in an intensively used farmland (W Poland). Diet was estimated by three methods : collars in nestlings, and pellets and prey remains in larders. Insects, mainly Coleoptera, Hymenoptera and Orthoptera constituted 97.7\% of the diet, with a total of 4392 prey items identified from all samples. However, during rainy and cold days vertebrates formed an important component (up to 26.5\% by biomass) of the food of the red-backed shrike. Food preference - expressed in relation to availability - was estimated for five arthropod taxa. Hymentoptera, Orthoptera and Coleoptera were more preferred prey. Heteroptera and ``other invertebrates'', included mainly flies, dragonflies and spiders were less preferred. For rational management of the red-backed shrike in farmland, we suggest that places with available prey (in appropriate densities), small vegetation patches and perches suited to low-expenditure hunting strategy, Should be preserved, as well as established.