Cephalopod Beaks and Studies of Seabird Diets

Cephalopod beaks and other hard prey remains are frequently used to study pelagic seabird diets, because intact prey are rarely found in collected birds. Beaks and fish otoliths can be used to identify the species consumed. Prey leaving hard remains in the stomach, however, can appear to be more important than more readily digested prey. This paper reports a study of the retention times of such hard parts in a captive shy albatross (Diomedea cauta ).