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Aldabra island’s red-tailed tropicbirds are declining due to predators attacking their nests, a researcher at Queens College in Oxford said following a scientific expedition to the remote atoll in Seychelles. Annette Fayet said that the attacks on the tropStudy: Red-tailed tropicbirds on remote Seychellois island declining because of predator attacks
Aldabra island’s red-tailed tropicbirds are declining due to predators attacking their nests, a researcher at Queens College in Oxford said following a scientific expedition to the remote atoll in Seychelles. Annette Fayet said that the attacks on the tropicbirds’ nests are extremely high and can be attributed to the low breeding numbers. “We have discovered the presence of black rats on the islets in the lagoon where the birds breed and they are preying on the nests and eating the eggs as soon as they are left unattended,” she said. Fayet said that the predators, which include crows, are also attacking the nests even when the parents are present. The red-tailed tropicbirds, called ‘payanke lake rouz’ in Creole, got their name for their greatly elongated tail streamers, which are boldly coloured red and can measure up to 35 centimetres in length.... Read more