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title: "Breakfast in bed: an incubating Northern Giant Petrel feeds on a Salvin's Prion at Marion Island"
---

# Breakfast in bed: an incubating Northern Giant Petrel feeds on a Salvin's Prion at Marion Island

Chris Jones ([FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology](http://www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za/), University of Cape Town, South Africa) and colleagues have published a short note in the journal [Antarctic Science](https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antarctic-science) on what appears to be the first record of a procellariiform seabird feeding on a prey item at its nest whilst still incubating.

 An extract from the short note follows:

 “Pelagic seabirds often nest on islands that are far from productive foraging areas.  The Procellariiformes (petrels, shearwaters and albatrosses) are among the longest-ranging seabirds; they have several adaptations that permit them to efficiently utilize distant foraging areas and fast for long periods during incubation (Phillips & Hamer 1999).  Giant petrels (*Macronectes* spp.) are large surface-nesting procellariiforms.  They feed both by direct predation and by scavenging carrion, and they are the largest avian predator-scavengers in the Southern Ocean. Among procellariiform seabirds, one partner forages while their mate remains on the nest to incubate their single egg (Warham 1990).  Northern giant petrels (*Macronectes halli*) have incubation shifts lasting up to 17 days (Cooper *et al.* 2001). In general, incubating procellariiform seabirds do not feed during their shift (Warham 1990). We report the first case to our knowledge of a procellariiform seabird, a northern giant petrel, actively feeding at its nest whilst incubating.

 ![](https://acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Petrels/N/Northern_Giant/NGP_eats_prion3_Chris_Jones.jpg)

  ![](https://acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Petrels/N/Northern_Giant/NGP_eats_prion1_Chris_Jones.jpg)

 An incubating Northern Giant Petrel feeds on a Salvin's Prion on Marion Island, photograph from Chris Jones

 The note is dedicated to the memory of David Walton, *Antarctic Science*’s inaugural and long-standing Chief Editor, who passed away suddenly on 12 February 2019 at the age of 73 ([click here](https://blogs.sun.ac.za/antarcticlegacy/2019/02/15/in-memory-of-prof-david-walton/)).

 **Reference:**

 Jones, C.W., Risi, M.M. & Cooper, J. 2019.  An incubating northern giant petrel actively feeds on a Salvin's prion.  [*Antarctic Science* doi:10.1017/S0954102019000415.](https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antarctic-science/article/an-incubating-northern-giant-petrel-actively-feeds-on-a-salvins-prion/635142748B9C358D823935405D2B6D3A)

 *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 15 November 2019*