Kiore ( Rattus exulans ) predation on the eggs of the Little Shearwater ( Puffinus assimilis haurakiensis ) | Notornis and Birds New Zealand

[摘要] Evidence of predation by kiore (Rattus exulans) on Little Shearwater (Puffinus assimilis haurakiensis) eggs was obtained on Lady Alice Island, Hen and Chickens Group, during the 1994 breeding season. A time-lapse video camera filmed a kiore removing a Little Shearwater egg from a nesting chamber. This egg was later recovered, showing signs of damage typical of rat predation. A kiore was also filmed breaking open and eating a punctured hen egg that had been placed in a shearwater burrow. Sixteen (55%) of the 29 nests monitored failed during incubation, and predation by kiore was the probable cause of failure for up to 75% of these nests.

[学科分类] 动物科学

[关键词] egg predation;Puffinus assimilis;Rattus exulans;shearwater