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Matching theories on kleptoparasitism to a complex avian event in Perth, Western Australia
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Matching theories on kleptoparasitism to a complex avian event in Perth, Western Australia

G.R. Fulton
Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia, Vol.104, pp.41-44
2021
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Abstract

Theories on kleptoparasitism are matched to a complex event during which a Laughing Dove Streptopelia senegalensis was injured by a car, probably fatally, then depredated by a group of Australian Magpies Gymnorhina tibicen and subsequently kleptoparasitized by two Australian Ravens Corvus coronoides. Relevant phylogenetic and ecological theories on kleptoparasitism suggest the main factors in play included the ravens’ greater size and intelligence (estimated using an encephalization quotient); the prey type being a vertebrate that provides a rich energy source; their prey handling times, which the ravens minimised to their advantage; and the context of an open urban habitat, which facilitated clear observations for the ravens and the magpies.

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