Thursday 13 June 2013

The chase is on


This is a terrible photo, my excuse being that it was at long range and I was sitting on a rocking boat when I took it, in the bay off Husavik, Iceland, a couple of weeks ago.

It shows an unfortunate Kittiwake (of which there were huge numbers) being pursued by a pair of Arctic Skuas, with a Great Skua waiting to rob them as soon as it gets the chance. The skuas usually force their victims to disgorge the contents of their crops, which they catch and eat in mid-air, although the Great Skua, or Bonxie, also regularly predates eggs and nestlings, or takes carrion.

We didn't see that many of either skua species, so it was exciting to see both together like this.

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