'Robber' shags caught on camera

Shags on the Farne Islands have been filmed stealing nesting material from their neighbours by a film crew in the UK.

In this clip, shags (Phalacrocorax aristotelis) can be seen taking washed-up sticks and dried seaweed from the nests of other shags.

Commenting on this sequence, producer Bridget Appleby said: "There must be an evolutionary advantage to finding the easiest way to get nesting material, but It's hard not to anthropomorphise. They come over as comical, mischievous characters with no scruples!"

Although entertaining to watch this behaviour is not uncommon amongst shags.

"Any exposed or unguarded nesting material is at risk of being stolen by a neighbour. Finding nesting material takes up time and energy so stealing from a neighbour who has done all the work saves them having to do it," explained Richard James from the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds).

"Shags normally nest in loose colonies and defend a territory in the immediate vicinity around their nest to keep these thieves away," he said.

The sequence was filmed for the BBC One series The Great British Year, which continues on Wednesday 9 October 2013 at 2100.

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Scientists Develop Novel Method to Study Parasite Numbers in Wild Seabirds

Dec. 13, 2012 — Scientists have developed a new method for studying parasite numbers in the stomachs of individual seabirds in the wild. The technique enables the recording of video footage of worms inside seabird stomachs and is an important step forward in understanding the impact of parasites on seabird populations.

The research is published today (Dec. 13, 2012) in the scientific journal Methods in Ecology and Evolution.

The research team trialled the use of endoscopy, often used in human and veterinary medicine but rarely in field situations, to measure natural parasite loads, or burdens, of European shags, a member of the cormorant family. The new study is part of ongoing work into how different factors such as gut parasites might affect the breeding success or survival of seabirds.

Shags have nematode worms (Contracaecum rudolphii) in their stomachs, obtained from their fish diet. These worms feed directly on food obtained by the birds, reducing for the food available to both parent and chicks.

The team behind today's study was led by Dr Sarah Burthe from the NERC Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) in the UK. Dr Burthe and colleagues from CEH collaborated with scientists from the University of Edinburgh (UK), Biomathematics and Statistics Scotland (UK), Aarhus University, (Denmark) and the Natural History Museum, London (UK). The study was carried out on the Isle of May NNR, an important seabird colony off the east coast of Scotland which has been intensively studied since the 1970s.

Continued:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/12/121213084935.htm