Ardea
Official journal of the Netherlands Ornithologists' Union

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Diamond A.W. (1974) The Red-footed Booby on Aldabra atoll, Indian Ocean. ARDEA 62 (3-4): 196-218
Six to seven thousand pairs of Red-footed Boobies breed on Aldabra, in colonies in mangroves. There is a wide spread of laying but most lay in the wet season with another peak, in some colonies, in the late dry season. It is suggested that the latter peak is possible only where few frigatebirds nest; most boobies lay among frigatebirds and lay in the wet season, after the frigatebirds have ceased to rob nests. Although food changes seasonally, the difference in breeding seasons in different parts of the atoll, which is paralleled on nearby Cosmoledo Atoll, suggests that food availability determines only the broad limits of the breeding season. The moult of breeding adults is described, and it is suggested that most adults pause in their primary moult during laying but begin it again during incubation and the growth of the chick. Chick development is compared with that in the Galapagos, and it is suggested that differences in climate, as well as in food availability, may have contributed to the marked differences in development between Aldabra and the Galapagos. The moult and plumage development is described; adult plumage probably develops at about three years old. A 'Staffelmauser' type of moult begins about five months after fledging, and apparently continues indefinitely, in three waves, with brief pauses during incubation. A comparison between this study and others shows few differences. Minor differences between the Galapagos population and others are probably due to periodic food shortages in the Galapagos, but there is no evidence that the Galapagos population is better adapted than any other to cope with them.


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