ABSTRACT
Most models of foraging require that animals possess information about the distribution and abundance of food in their environment (Krebs, 1978; Pyke, Pulliam, & Chamov, 1977; Schoener, 1971). Animals that search for food they have stored themselves might be expected to possess a great deal more information about its distribution than animals foraging for food distributed in ways they cannot control. Some birds, notably marsh tits (Parus pa/ustris), black-capped chickadees (Parus atricapillus), and Clark's nutcrackers (Nucifraga columbiana), are capable of remembering hundreds of locations where they have cached food, and in some cases the current status and contents of these caches. They are able to retain this information in memory for several days, and probably much longer, and they rely on it to guide the accurate and efficient recovery of their stored food supply.
