19 136 SHORT COMMUNICATIONS Maine Omithologt

AN ANTARCTICFULMARFULMARUS GLACULOIDE.S FEEDING ON LAND

F. GENEVOIS & O. CHASTEL

Centred'Etndes Biologiques de Chiz6,Centre National de la RechercheScientifique,

79 3 60 Beauv oi r/Niort, France

Received10 May 1991,accepted 16August 1991

Antarctic Fulnar was observed Of the 95 of the family On 27 June 1990 an of a Gentoo Penguin (Jouanin & Mougin 1979) only the feeding on land on a carcass base of Port-aux-francais, two giant Mauonectes spp. and the Snow flgoscelis papua near the in the large bay of the Pagodroma niveu have been reportcd to feed 15 km from the open sea Iles Kerguelen. The was on land. In this note, we add this previously Morbihan penguin on the full length of the unexpected technique to the repertoire of another, standing near the wings, and was accompanied the Antarctic Fulmarus glacialoides,one of tarsus with eKended Petrels Mauonectes halli. The the fulmarine petrels, a group of taxonomically by Northern Giant feeding technique, the related speciesexhibiting scavengingbehaviour. two species used the same point of entry to the carcasebeing the flippers. The feeding habit usually recorded for this group is place around the "surface seizing" while floating or swimming Agonistic interactions took Antarctic Fulmar was (Harper et al. 1985). The two sibling species of carcaseand, even though the the displays of the giant petrels are predators and take carrion at sea more timorous and sensitive to 1983),it was faster to take or on land (Johnstone 1977, Hunter 1983) and the giant petrels (see Hunter move off to feed at sea. is reported occasionallyto feed on land pieces of flesh and to again near the carrion it on seal placentas (Mougin 1968). In contrast, the Before the bird settled over the feeding site. Thalassoicaantarctica, the Pintado alwaysexecuted many flights Petrel Daption capenseand the two fulmar species on land has not been Fulmarus spp. are known to be opportunistic This behaviour of feeding Arctic Fulmar F. glacialis scavengersfeeding exclusivelyat sea, sometimes on described for the Fisher (1952) reports a offal (Beck 1969, Furness & Todd 1984, (Furness & Todd 1984),but "landing or seal left on the Montague 1984). bird at a carcaseof bear ice" in Spitzbergen. In his interesting observations , Kritzler The feeclingbehaviour of the Antarctic Fulmar has on behaviour of captive Arctic feeding either from been described at four antarctic localitics. It is (1948) describes captive feeding trays. This mainly a eater in Addlie Land (Ridoux and the water or while perched on was not due to Offredo 1988), a fish eater in the Prydz Bay region author thought that the behaviour if circumstances (Arnould & Whitehead 1991),whereas in the Ross learning and may exist in the wild of an Antarctic and Weddell Seas, is the main prey (Ainley er render it useful. The observation prey corroborates this al. 1984). During the breeding season in Ad6lie Fulmar feeclingon tcrrestrial Land, Antarctic Fulmars have never been seen opinion. foraging along the coastline (Jouventin & Robin proclivity to feeding 1984).Mougin (1975)has emphasizedthe cxclusive Among the Procellariidae, the for some sea-feedinghabits of this bird. on land has only been established t991 SHORTCOMMUNICATIONS r37 fulmarine petrels. This may be due to the position the manuscript,and S. Hall improvedthe English. of their feet not being set so far back as in the other We particularlywish to thankR.W. Furnessand G. members of the family (".g. gadfly petrels Robertsonfor helpful commentson a draft of this Pterodroma spp. and shcarwaters Puffinus spp.). paper. The Antarctic Fulmar is considered to be the weakest of all the group on its feet (Marchant & REFERENCES Higgins 1990) and we therefore suggest that observersshould watch for such a modification of AINLEY, D.G., O'CONNOR, E.F. & feeding behaviour in the Arctic Fulmar, and in BOEKELHEIDE, R.J. 1984. The marine Antarctic and Pintado Petrels. ecologyof birds in the ,Antarctica. Om. Monogr.32:I-97. Vagrant Antarctic Fulmars are abundant at the end ARNOULD, J.P.Y.& WHITEHEAD. M.D. 1991. of the austral winter and in spring around Iles The diet of Antarcticpetrels, Cape petrels and Kerguelen. A group of 1 035 moulting birds was southernfulmars rearing chicksin Prydz Bay. observedin a $ord in November 1987 (Ausilio & Antarct.Sci3: 19-27. Zotier 1989). Our obscrvaLionof an Antarctic AUSILIO, E. & ZOTIER, R. 1989.Vagrant birds Fulmar feeding on land was made during an at iles Kerguelen, southern Indian . atmosphericdepression. The influence of severe Cormorant17:9-78. meteorological condit.ions on has often BECK J.R. 1969.Food, moult and age at lrst beendiscussed, and when mortality occurs,it secms breedingin the Cape Pigeon,Daption capensis. relatedto the condition and health of birds when Br.Antarct. Surv. Bull.2l:33-44- stormyweather strikcs (Powlesland& Imbcr 1988). FISHER,J. 1952.The Fulmar. London:Collins. In such bad woather conditions, many species of FURNESS,R.W. & TODD, C.M. 1984.Diet and petrels (notably Blue Pctrels Halobqena caerulea, feeding of Fulmarus gtacialis during the Whiteheadcd Petrels PIerodrotna lessorri, breedingseason: a comparisonbetween St Kilda WhitechinncdPetrels Procellaia aequinoctialis and andShetland colonies. Ibis t26:379-387. Slenderbilled Prions Pachyptilu betchei) rake HARPER, P.C., CROXALL, J.P., AND refuge in the Morbihan Gulf, a more sheltered COOPER,J. 1985.A guideto foragingmethods placethan the open sea, though open to wcstern used by marine birds in Antarctic and winds.Then, grcat conccntrationsof these bircls Subantarcticseas. BIOMASS Handbook 24: l- can be seenalong thc coastlinesof the gulf (pcrs. 22. obs.). HUNTER, S. 1983.The food and feedingecology of the giant petrels Macronecteshalli and We suggcstthat the Antarctic Fulmar scen feeding Macronectesgiganteus at South Georgia. "I. ashorewas exhaustedand suffering from starvation, Zool.,Lond. 200:521-538. and may have thercfore uscd this teeding habit, JOHNSTONE, G.W. 1977. Comparativefeeding unusualfor sucha pelagicseabird. ecology of the giant petrels Macronectes giganteusand Macronecteshalli. In: LI-ANO, ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS cA. (Ed.). Proceedingsof the 3rd SCAR Syrnposiumon Antarctic Biology. Houston, This work has been undertakcn as part of the Texas:Gulf Publications.pp. 647-6f,8. antarcticmammal and bird rcsearch programme, JOUANIN, C. & MOUGIN, J.L. 1979. directcdby P. Jouvontin. Logistical support was . In: MAYR, E. & provided bv the Terres ALtstrqlcs et Antarctiques COTTRELL, G.W. (Eds.).Peter's checklist of Francaises.C. Verheydcn, V. Bretagnolle, C.A. the birds of the world, Vol. 1, 2nd edition. Bostmade hclpful commentson an earlier draft of 138 SHORTCOMMUNICATIONS Marine Omitholog 19

Cambridge,Mass: Harvard University Press. MOUGIN, J.L. 1968.Etude dcologiquede quatre pp:zE-121. espdcesde p6trelsantarctiques. Oiseuu 38:2-52. JOUVENTIN, P. & ROBIN, C. 1984.Olfactory MOUGIN, J.L. 7975. Ecologie comparde des experimentson some Antarctic seabirds.Enru procellariidaeantarctiques et subantarctiques. 84: ul6-rl8. Com. Nat.Franc. Rech. Antarcr. 35: 153-154. KRITZLER. H. 1948.Observations on behaviorof POWLESI-AND, R.R. & IMBER, MJ. 1988. captiveFulmars. Condor 50: 5-15. OSNZ beach patrol sheme: information and MARCFIANT, S. & HIGGINS, P.J. 1990. instructions.Notomis 35: 143-153. Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and RIDOUX, V. & OFFREDO, C. 1989.The diet of Antarctic birds. Melbourne:Oford University five summerbreeding seabirds in Addlie Land, Press. Antarctica.Polar Biol. 9: I37 -145. MONTAGUE, T. 1984. The food of Antarctic PetrelsThalas soica antarctic a. Emu 84: 244-245.

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