Australian Field Ornithology 2021, 38, 154–156http://dx.doi.org/10.20938/afo38154156

Introduction

Pelicans (family Pelecanidae) are large waterbirds found on all habitable continents (Nelson 2005). The Australian Pelican Pelecanus conspicillatus is the sole representative of the family in Australia (Nelson 2005). Population declines have been observed in south-eastern Australia (Porter et al. 2006; Paton et al. 2009; Hansen et al. 2015) but Australian Pelicans are readily found in many developed areas. In some places, pelican species have become habituated to human activities, including providing them with food (Newsome & Rodger 2008).

Pelicans are generally piscivores (Nelson 2005), though crustaceans, reptiles, amphibians and other taxa are occasionally eaten (Mora 1989; Findholt & Anderson 1995). They occasionally engage in cannibalism (Smith & Munro 2008) or prey on smaller waterbirds (e.g. de Ponte Machado 2007; Mwema et al. 2010; Cursach et al. 2016; McCreadie 2017).

Here, I report an observation of an Australian Pelican briefly capturing a Rainbow Lorikeet Trichoglossus moluccanus, a common native parrot of urban areas in eastern Australia.

Observation

The observation was made at Sussex Inlet (35°09′S, 150°36′E), a coastal town in the Shoalhaven region of New South Wales. Homes, holiday accommodation and food outlets line banks of the tidal canals at this location, and people there often feed birds.

In the late afternoon of 15 August 2020, five Australian Pelicans in the canal approached a group of tourists outside a motel. The tourists were feeding seed to a flock of Rainbow Lorikeets 30 m from the water. The Lorikeets were eating the seed from the ground and from people’s hands. The five Pelicans moved out of the water and walked toward the Lorikeets. One of the Pelicans walked among the Lorikeets feeding on the ground (Figure 1). The tourists then stopped dispersing seed and watched the Lorikeets eating the seeds on the ground. The Pelican surrounded by Lorikeets stood within 2 m of one tourist,

as if waiting to be fed. After a few minutes, it struck at a Lorikeet and caught it by the tail-feathers, but the Lorikeet escaped and flew away. After this, the Pelican did not lunge at any other Lorikeets but stayed where it was until the tourists left. All of the other Lorikeets continued to feed, apparently not perturbed by the incident even during the time when the one Lorikeet was briefly captured.

Discussion

As far as I am aware, this is the first report of any pelican species attempting to capture a parrot. Pelicans have been reported preying on medium-sized waterbirds such as ducks (e.g. Morse 1922; Carruthers 1969; Cambridge 1983; McCreadie 2017) and gulls (e.g. Lowe & Lowe 1976; Campbell & Sonter 1985). Pelicans in city parks have also been observed consuming Rock Doves Columba livia (Clarke 2006).

The Australian Pelican that I observed did not eat the Rainbow Lorikeet that it captured and the Lorikeet escaped. Therefore, it is impossible to determine whether the Pelican was attempting to prey on the Lorikeet, acting out of inquisitiveness or exhibiting displacement behaviour toward the Lorikeet in response to not gaining food. The Lorikeets were notably unperturbed by the Pelicans and did not appear to consider them a potential predator. Although the food offered by the tourists was limited to seeds, the Pelicans were most likely attracted to the aggregation of Lorikeets on the chance that they could obtain food. It is possible that Pelicans had previously been fed fish or meat by people outside the motel (e.g. Newsome & Rodger 2008). Thus, the attack on the Lorikeet was probably an opportunistic and unplanned interaction. Numerous birds can be opportunistic in response to a foraging event, demonstrated in a case of Rainbow Lorikeets taking meat provided for carnivorous birds (Gillanders et al. 2017).

In natural settings, Australian Pelicans and Rainbow Lorikeets would not normally occur in close proximity to each other. Pelicans are aquatic and usually roost and nest on the ground (Robert 2012; Johnston 2016) whereas Rainbow Lorikeets generally feed, roost and nest in trees (Smith & Lill 2008; Rogers et al. 2020). Apart from when food is being provided by humans, lorikeet species would

An Australian Pelican Pelecanus conspicillatus attacking a Rainbow Lorikeet Trichoglossus moluccanus being fed by people

Matthew Mo

59 Goulburn Street, Sydney NSW 2000, AustraliaEmail: matthew.sk.mo@gmail.com

Abstract. Pelicans are generally piscivores, but occasionally prey on smaller waterbirds and other animals. I observed an Australian Pelican Pelecanus conspicillatus capture a Rainbow Lorikeet Trichoglossus moluccanus after both species had been attracted to people scattering seed for birds. The Pelican briefly caught the Lorikeet by the tail, but the Lorikeet escaped and flew away. To my knowledge, this is the first report of any pelican species capturing a parrot. It is unclear whether the Pelican was attempting to eat the Lorikeet.

Australian Pelican attacks Rainbow Lorikeet being fed by people 155

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generally not aggregate on the ground. This observation therefore demonstrates how humans providing food to birds can lead to aggregations of species that would not naturally come into contact. This unnatural situation may enable pelican species to expand their diet beyond aquatic organisms to novel items such as parrots.

AcknowledgementsUseful comments from Darryl Jones and Greg Johnston improved the note.

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Figure 1. An Australian Pelican approaches a flock of Rainbow Lorikeets descending around some provisioned seeds. Photos: Matthew Mo

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Received 8 December 2020, accepted 28 May 2021,published online 16 September 2021