2024/07/24 by Delcourt, Johann
#FOS: Natural sciences #Natural sciences
paper · doi:10.60768/aves.2022051
The dispersal of molluscs by birds is a poorly documented phenomenon. If this has generally attracted more attention from malacologists than from ornithologists, it is the latter who can generally provide the best information on this little-known subject. The role that birds play in this process helps to explain many mysteries concerning the colonization of places normally unreachable for these molluscs: an isolated pond in the countryside or a distant oceanic island. This dispersal also makes it possible to highlight the use of certain migratory routes taken by birds even in very ancient times. We review here the different modes of dispersal of molluscs by birds (ornithochory), their effectiveness and their implication.