Benefits to satellite members in mixed-species foraging groups: an experimental analysis.

Hypotheses proposed to explain the formation of mixed-species foraging groups have focused on both foraging and antipredation benefits. Mixed-species flocks of bark-foraging birds form during the winter in the eastern deciduous forests of North America. These flocks are composed of two parid nuclear species, tufted titmice, Baeolophus bicolor, and either Carolina or black-capped chickadees, Poecile carolinensis or P.