On Fri, 25 Jan 2002, Jon Wren wrote:
> I have observed a relationship between dead cane toads beneath the nests of
> Brahminy Kite and Black Kite Milvus migrans. All Cane Toads had the soft
> belly area eaten away while the poison glands on the hind neck were intact.
> I call it a relationship as I have not actually observed these species
> actually eating a Cane Toad but the evidence seems to point in that
> direction.
There a few written reports of Black Kites consuming Cane Toads with
out harm. The only reference I've seen for Brahminy Kites consuming Cane
Toads is a Sptember 1985 Corella paper by H.L. Bell, "Distribution and Habits of
kites in Papua New Guinea". Bell describes Black Kites consuming large
number of toads around Lae in 1970. Bell doesn't discuss Brahminy Kites
consuming Cane Toads, but one of tables in the paper indicates they do.
It'd be worth writing up observations of Brahminy Kite and toads
as a short publication.
Observation of dead toads, consumed in the manner you describe, being
found around Black Kite nests near Townsville has been published in:
Predation on the Cane Toad (Bufo marinus) by the Black Kite (Milvus
migrans), D. Mitchell, A. Jones and J. Hero, Memoirs of the Queensland
Museum 38(2):512, 1995
Andrew Taylor
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