As young seabirds approach independence, a range of tactics are sometimes employed in an attempt to secure additional food items prior to departing the nest. Detailed here are previously unreported kleptoparasitic and predatory behaviors of juvenile Brown Boobies (Sula leucogastei) on Ashmore Reef in the Timor Sea. From 14–20 November 2013, the number of Greater Crested Terns (Thalasseus bergii) breeding adjacent to a Brown Booby colony was reduced from 128 adults attending the colony to 59 adults. During this time, two juvenile Brown Boobies were observed depredating the eggs of the Greater Crested Terns and ingesting prey regurgitated by Greater Crested Terns. The factors that lead to this unusual foraging behavior in juvenile Brown Boobies are not known; however, low body mass and hunger may play a role. Repeated years of predation of Greater Crested Tern eggs by Brown Boobies could lead to the abandonment of this colony.
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1 June 2014
Predation of Greater Crested Tern (Thalasseus bergii) Eggs by Juvenile Brown Boobies (Sula leucogaster) on Ashmore Reef
Jennifer L. Lavers,
Ashley Herrod,
Rohan H. Clarke
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Waterbirds
Vol. 37 • No. 2
June 2014
Vol. 37 • No. 2
June 2014
Brown Booby
egg predation
Greater Crested Tern
interspecific klep to parasitism
Sula leucogaster
Thalasseus bergii