Common Ravens (Corvus corax) Prey on Rhinoceros Auklet (Cerorhinca monocerata) Eggs, Chicks, and Possibly Adults

We observed Common Ravens (Corvus corax) on Protection Island, Washington that used their bills to dig into the nesting burrows of Rhinoceros Auklets (Cerorhinca monocerata) and prey on auklet eggs. In addition, we observed a raven fly away from a burrow with an auklet chick, a raven attack and unsu...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Wilson journal of ornithology 2015-06, Vol.127 (2), p.336-339
Main Authors: Hayward, James L., Atkins, Gordon J., Reichert, Ashley A., Henson, Shandelle M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adults
Animal behavior
Auks
Birds
Cerorhinca monocerata
Common Ravens
Corvus corax
Eggs
Nesting
Northern raven
predation
Predation (Biology)
Prey
Protection Island National Wildlife Refuge
Rhinoceros Auklets
SHORT COMMUNICATIONS
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:We observed Common Ravens (Corvus corax) on Protection Island, Washington that used their bills to dig into the nesting burrows of Rhinoceros Auklets (Cerorhinca monocerata) and prey on auklet eggs. In addition, we observed a raven fly away from a burrow with an auklet chick, a raven attack and unsuccessfully attempt to capture an adult auklet, and a raven fly with and feed on a freshly killed adult auklet. Although Common Ravens have been reported to prey on Rhinoceros Auklets’ eggs, to our knowledge this is the first report of a raven preying on a chick and the first report of an attempt by a raven to capture an adult auklet.
ISSN:1559-4491
1938-5447
DOI:10.1676/wils-127-02-336-339.1