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Project Noah Nature School
Anous stolidus galapagensis
Brown noddies quite commonly follow pelicans in the air as they hunt for fish. Moments after the pelican dives into the water the noddy lands on its head and hopes for a chance to grab a fish right out of the pelicans mouth! The pelicans don't seem to react to this behaviour at all - seems they are just resigned to the fact that they will have noddies on their heads from time to time
Spotted on Jul 23, 2013
Submitted on Aug 4, 2013
3 Comments
That's cool.
Thanks for the info! It certainly makes sense that the Noddies would be much more likely to grab an escaping fish than to "reach in" to the pouch and steal one so my wording is misleading. I didn't see them reach in to the pouch myself - I only heard the behaviour described in that way! I love the Galapagos!
Fabulous shots! Thank you, Doug! You may be right: The Noddies may sometimes actually steal fish out of the Pelican's pouch, but observing these scenens multiple times I believe that the Noddy more frequently catches one or more little fish escaping from the pouch while the Pelican slowly pulls it up and above the water surface, thereby slowly draining it, releasing the water from the pouch. That process sometimes takes a minute or so, allowing small fish to escape. That would make the Noddy sometimes a parasite and sometimes a commensal - and would explain why the Pelican does not really care about the Noddy sitting on his head. - Your second shot shows very nicely how the Pelican throws up his pouch and head to swallow his drained haul. Congratulations! - Go to facebook.com/darwinfoundation for scientific info on Galapagos.