Abstract
On Genovesa Island (00.3°N, 089.9°W) in the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador, Great Frigatebirds Fregata minor kleptoparasitize (i.e., steal food from) Red-footed Boobies Sula sula. In five of eight cases that I observed, the frigatebirds harassed the boobies until the latter regurgitated their forage, which the frigatebirds consumed. In three cases, the booby responded with a honk-like call and the frigatebirds stopped harassing. I propose that the honk is an “honest signal” by a booby having little food to divulge. Boobies loaded with forage do not honk because the call could trigger regurgitation. Thus, frigatebirds harass with escalation only non-honking boobies. The interaction is important in what appears to be a food-limited booby population.
DOI
http://doi.org/10.5038/2074-1235.53.1.1628
Creative Commons License
Recommended Citation
Chao, Lin
(2025)
"Use of an Honest Signal by Red-footed Boobies Sula sula in Response to Kleptoparasitism by Great Frigatebirds Fregata minor,"
Marine Ornithology: Vol. 53
:
Iss.
1
, Article 27.
http://doi.org/10.5038/2074-1235.53.1.1628
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/marine_ornithology/vol53/iss1/27