大象传媒

Rufous night herons are not reliant on a fish glut in the way that other birds are when timing their breeding. They can afford to nest late into the bird breeding season as their food is right under their feet: green sea turtle hatchlings. Green sea turtles time their egg laying so that most eggs hatch on exactly the same day. As the tiny hatchlings attempt to reach the sea from their sandy underground nest, they must run the gauntlet of an army of hungry herons. By swamping their predators in this way, it ensures that at least some of the young make it out to sea.