Feeding by kelp gulls on rodents during a mouse outbreak at an inland area in Southern Chile

Infrequent but synchronized flowering of bamboo species in southern Chile provides abundant seeds, causing outbreaks of granivorous rodents. During one of these events in 1995 at Peulla, Todos los Santos Lake, a flock of Kelp Gulls (Larus dominicanus) fed almost exclusively on dead rodents, mainly the Rice Rat (Oligoryzomys longicaudatus). After the mouse outbreak, gulls abandoned the area. As gulls are not abundant residents of inland lakes in southern Chile, these observations suggest that gulls were particularly attracted to the area by the high availability of dead rodents. Received 2 August 2000, accepted 1 September 2000.