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Seabirds can nest in trees (if any are available), on the ground (with or without nests), on cliffs, in burrows under the ground and in rocky crevices. Competition can be strong both within species and between species, with aggressive species such as sooty terns pushing less dominant species out of the most desirable nesting spaces. [ 55 ]
During peak birding season, there are often reports of the central meadow holding large numbers of sparrows, notably Le Conte’s, White-Crowned, Lincoln's and Fox. [6] In winter, the sanctuary is reported to have roosting owls, including Northern Saw-whet and snowy owl. [6] [7]
The Swiss naturalist Conrad Gessner gave the northern gannet the name Anser bassanus or scoticus in the 16th century, and noted that the Scots called it a solendguse. [4] The former name was also used by the English naturalist Francis Willughby in the 17th century; the species was known to him from a colony in the Firth of Forth and from a stray bird that was found near Coleshill, Warwickshire.
Seabirds fly low over water but gain altitude when crossing land, and the reverse pattern is seen in land birds. [ 34 ] [ 35 ] However most bird migration is in the range of 150 to 600 m (490–2,000 ft).
Where it nests on the tundra in the far north, the Arctic skua (Stercorarius parasiticus) is a terrestrial predator, but at lower latitudes, it is a specialised kleptoparasite, concentrating on auks and other seabirds. It harasses puffins while they are airborne, forcing them to drop their catch, which it then snatches up.
They nest in burrows and often give eerie contact calls on their night-time visits. They lay a single white egg. They lay a single white egg. The chicks of some species, notably short-tailed and sooty shearwaters, are subject to harvesting from their nest burrows for food, a practice known as muttonbirding , in Australia and New Zealand.
Common tern Conservation status Least Concern (IUCN 3.1) Scientific classification Domain: Eukaryota Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Charadriiformes Family: Laridae Genus: Sterna Species: S. hirundo Binomial name Sterna hirundo Linnaeus, 1758 Breeding Resident Non-breeding Passage Vagrant (seasonality uncertain) Synonyms Sterna fluviatilis (Naumann, 1839) Twisted head The ...
Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal birds that usually nest on the ground. They have long wings, short legs, and very short bills. Most have small feet, of little use for walking, and long pointed wings. Their soft plumage is cryptically colored to resemble bark or leaves. Three species have been recorded in Illinois. Common nighthawk ...