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A DRAMATIC chase is afoot between two seabirds above the icy waters of north-east Norway in the image below. In a sly plan to steal a fish, an Arctic skua (Stercorarius parasiticus) tails a black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) while mirroring its flight pattern.
The striking shot, captured by Alwin Hardenbol at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, clinched top prize in the “Relationships in nature” category in the 2024 BMC Ecology and Evolution and BMC Zoology Image Competition. Kleptoparasitism (stealing food from others) is common among skuas.