Use of a Robin's Nest as a Cache Site for Truffles by a Red Squirrel

Abstract

A 'Turdus migratorius' (American Robin) nest was found in southern New Brunswick, Canada, containing 52 mature sporocarps ('truffles') of 'Elaphomyces granulatus' (false truffle), a species of hypogeous fungus common across North America. Teeth marks on the truffles indicated they had been cached in the nest by a 'Tamiasciurus hudsonicus' (red squirrel). The truffles appeared to have been air-dried before caching and were well preserved. Mean (± SD) weight of each truffle was 3.3 ± 1.4 g, with a total weight of cached material of 173 g. Although caching of epigeous fungus by squirrels is well documented in the literature, records of cached hypogeous fungi are relatively uncommon, and caches involving disused bird nests appear to be rarely encountered.