Eight days ago we discovered at "Prince Philip's Steps" on Tower (also called Genovesa) Island, the strange case of a plunge diver, Sula dactylatra, adopting a Fregata minor chick.
Frigates are cleptoparasitic, which means they are pirates of the air, stealing food from other seabirds, especially boobies. (They also feed on flying fish, but the flying fish are not always flying.)
Our booby male doesn't care about old antagonisms, doesn't keep bad feelings, and for a reason we don't understand is determined to raise this "pirate" baby. He has been cleaning, shading, and probably feeding the chick for one week already.
What is going to happen? Will the frigatebird chick be able to survive? For how long? Are the real parents still feeding it when the super-paternal booby is not around? We'll tell you more about it next week, when we again visit Tower Island.
