Octopuses Have a Fowl Diet

2014/09/01 by R. C. Anderson, Ronald L. Shimek · 1 citation
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Environmental Science · Veterinary · #Cephalopods and Marine Biology #Turtle Biology and Conservation #Veterinary Pharmacology and Anesthesia

paper · doi:10.4003/006.032.0213

openalex publication_date 2014/09/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30

Abstract

There are several references to octopuses eating birds but few give details of the encounters. Here we document the details of seven instances (six Enteroctopus dofleini (Wülker, 1910) and one Octopus cf. insularis Leite and Haimovici, 2008) of octopuses attacking, capturing or eating birds, including glaucous-winged gulls (Larus glaucescens), a pigeon guillemot (Cepphus columba), a double-crested cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus), a western grebe (Aechmophorus occidentalis) a brown noddy (Anous stolidus) and a bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus).

Citations

• Morphological and genetic description of Octopus insularis, a new cryptic species in the Octopus vulgaris complex (Cephalopoda: Octopodidae) from the tropical southwestern Atlantic
• Variability in the Diet Specialization ofEnteroctopus dofleini(Cephalopoda: Octopodidae) in the Eastern Pacific Examined from Midden Contents
• The bird kraken: octopus preys on a sea bird at an oceanic island in the tropical West Atlantic

Cited by

• Cephalopod size [wikipedia]