Editing Alpine chough (section)

===Feeding===
[[File:Pyrrhocorax graculus -Gornergrat Observatory, Switzerland -alps-8.jpg|alt= Visitors sitting at tables on a large balcony high in the Swiss Alps, and a chough is perching on a railing beside them.|A chough probably looking for supplementary food is perching on a railing alongside visitors to [[Gornergrat]], high in the Swiss Alps|thumb]]
In the summer, the Alpine chough feeds mainly on [[invertebrate]]s collected from pasture, such as [[beetle]]s (''[[Selatosomus aeneus]]'' and ''[[Otiorhynchus morio]]'' have been recorded from [[Pellet (ornithology)|pellets]]), [[snail]]s, [[grasshopper]]s, [[caterpillar]]s and [[fly]] [[larva]]e.<ref name= goodwin/> The diet in autumn, winter and early spring becomes mainly fruit, including [[berry|berries]] such as the European Hackberry (''[[Celtis australis]]'') and Sea-buckthorn (''[[Sea-buckthorn|Hippophae rhamnoides]]''),<ref name= goodwin/> [[rose hip]]s, and domesticated crops such as apples, grapes and pears where available.<ref name= LaioloCarisio/> It has been observed eating flowers of ''[[Crocus vernus|Crocus vernus albiflorus]]'', including the [[Gynoecium|pistils]], perhaps as a source of [[carotenoid]]s.<ref name= BCbirds>{{cite journal | last= McKibbin | first= René |author2=Bishop, Christine A. | year= 2008 | title= Feeding observations of the western Yellow-breasted Chat in the south Okanagan valley British Columbia, Canada during a seven-year study period | journal= British Columbia Birds | volume=18 | pages= 24–25 | url = http://bcfo.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/bcbvol18j.pdf}}</ref> The chough will readily supplement its winter diet with food provided by tourist activities in mountain regions, including ski resorts, [[landfill|refuse dump]]s and [[picnic|picnic areas]]. Where additional food is available, winter flocks are larger and contain a high proportion of immature birds. The young birds principally frequent the sites with the greatest food availability, such as refuse dumps.<ref name= Delestrade>{{cite journal | last= Delestrade | first= Anne | year= 1994| title= Factors affecting flock size in the Alpine Chough ''Pyrrhocorax graculus'' | journal= Ibis | volume= 136 | pages= 91–96 | doi =10.1111/j.1474-919X.1994.tb08135.x }}</ref> Both chough species will hide food in cracks and fissures, concealing the cache with a few pebbles.<ref name= wall>{{cite book | last = Wall | first = Stephen B. Vander | title = Food hoarding in animals | year = 1990 | publisher = University of Chicago Press | isbn = 978-0-226-84735-1 | page = [https://archive.org/details/foodhoardinginan0000vand/page/306 306] | url = https://archive.org/details/foodhoardinginan0000vand/page/306 }}</ref>

This bird always forages in groups, which are larger in winter than summer, and have constant composition in each season. Where food resources are restricted, adults dominate young birds, and males outrank females.<ref name= delestradesty/> Foraging areas change altitudinally through the year, depending on climatic factors, food availability and food quality. During the breeding season, birds remain above the [[tree line]], although they may use food provided by tourists at refuges and picnic areas.<ref name= LaioloCarisio/>

Movement to lower levels begins after the first snowfalls, and feeding by day is mainly in or near valley bottoms when the snow cover deepens, although the birds return to the mountains to roost. In March and April the choughs frequent villages at valley tops or forage in snow-free patches prior to their return to the high meadows.<ref name=LaioloCarisio>{{cite journal|last=Laiolo |first=Paola |author2=Rolando, Antonio |author3=Carisio, Lorendana |title=Winter movements of the Alpine Chough: implications for management in the Alps |journal=Journal of Mountain Ecology |volume=6 |pages=21–30 |url=http://www.mountainecology.org/IBEX6/pdf/LAIOLO.pdf |date=2001 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070705225109/http://www.mountainecology.org/IBEX6/pdf/LAIOLO.pdf |archive-date=5 July 2007 }}</ref> Feeding trips may cover {{convert|20|km|mi|abbr=on}} distance and {{convert|1600|m|ft|abbr=on}} in altitude. In the Alps, the development of skiing above {{convert|3000|m|ft|abbr=on}} has enabled more birds to remain at high levels in winter.<ref name = BWP/>

Where their ranges overlap, the two chough species may feed together in the summer, although there is only limited competition for food. An Italian study showed that the vegetable part of the winter diet for the red-billed chough was almost exclusively ''[[Gagea]]'' bulbs dug from the ground, whilst the Alpine chough took berries and hips. In June, red-billed choughs fed mainly on caterpillars whereas Alpine choughs ate [[Tipuloidea|crane fly]] [[pupa]]e. Later in the summer, the Alpine chough consumed large numbers of grasshoppers, while the red-billed chough added crane fly pupae, fly larvae and beetles to its diet.<ref name= Rolando2>{{cite journal|last= Rolando |first= Antonio |author2=Laiolo, Paola |date=April 1997 |title= A comparative analysis of the diets of the chough ''Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax'' and the alpine chough ''Pyrrhocorax graculus'' coexisting in the Alps |journal= Ibis | volume=139 |issue=2 |pages=388–395 |doi= 10.1111/j.1474-919X.1997.tb04639.x }}</ref> In the eastern Himalayas in November, Alpine choughs occur mainly in [[juniper]] forests where they feed on [[Juniper berry|juniper berries]], differing ecologically from the red-billed choughs in the same region and at the same time of year, which feed by digging in the soil of terraced pastures of villages.<ref>{{cite journal |author= Laiolo, Paola |year= 2003 |title= Ecological and behavioural divergence by foraging Red-billed ''Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax'' and Alpine Choughs ''P. graculus'' in the Himalayas |url= http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=15605736 |journal= Ardea |volume= 91 |issue= 2 |pages= 273–277 |access-date= 2 June 2009 |archive-date= 12 June 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120612070106/http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=15605736 |url-status= dead }} (abstract)</ref>