The first evidence of alloparental feeding in a crevice-nesting seabird, the little auk

An alloparent is an individual that cares for a young individual, but it is not its genetic parent. This behaviour is known in many species of animals, but some groups are still underreported. Here, we documented, in camera footage, the alloparental feeding of two chicks of the little auk, a crevice-nesting seabird. This is the first evidence of this behaviour in the little auk despite similar monitoring undertaken between 2016 and 2022 and the second record for a crevice/burrow-nesting seabird. We compared chicks that were fed by an alloparent to other chicks from the same year and explored reasons for the behaviour in the context of seabird breeding biology. We documented, using camera footage, the first evidence of alloparental feeding (feeding by an individual, not being a parent) in the little auk and a second record of crevice/burrow-nesting seabird. The set-up allowed us a detailed insight into parental care of chicks fed by alloparents and to explore reasons for the unusual phenomenon.image