AN ANTARCTIC FULMARFULMARUS GLACULOIDE.S FEEDING ON LAND
Of the 95 species of the seabird family Procellariidae (Jouanin & Mougin 1979) only the two giant petrels Mauonectes spp. and the Snow Petrel Pagodroma niveu have been reportcd to feed on land. In this note, we add this previously unexpected technique to the repertoire of another, the Antarctic...
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| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
1991
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| Online Access: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.601.4440 http://www.marineornithology.org/PDF/19/MO_1991_25.pdf |
| Summary: | Of the 95 species of the seabird family Procellariidae (Jouanin & Mougin 1979) only the two giant petrels Mauonectes spp. and the Snow Petrel Pagodroma niveu have been reportcd to feed on land. In this note, we add this previously unexpected technique to the repertoire of another, the Antarctic Fulmar Fulmarus glacialoides, one of the fulmarine petrels, a group of taxonomically related species exhibiting scavenging behaviour. The feeding habit usually recorded for this group is "surface seizing " while floating or swimming (Harper et al. 1985). The two sibling species of giant petrels are predators and take carrion at sea or on land (Johnstone 1977, Hunter 1983) and the Snow Petrel is reported occasionally to feed on land on seal placentas (Mougin 1968). In contrast, the Antarctic Petrel Thalassoica antarctica, the Pintado Petrel Daption capense and the two fulmar species Fulmarus spp. are known to be opportunistic scavengers feeding exclusively at sea, sometimes on |
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