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The great skua (Stercorarius skua), sometimes known by the name bonxie in Britain, is a large seabird in the skua family Stercorariidae. It is roughly the size of a herring gull . It mainly eats fish caught at the sea surface or taken from other birds.
The brown booby (Sula leucogaster) is a large seabird of the booby family Sulidae, of which it is perhaps the most common and widespread species. [3] It has a pantropical range, which overlaps with that of other booby species. The gregarious brown booby commutes and forages at low height over inshore waters.
The name is derived from súla, the Old Norse and Icelandic word for the other member of the family Sulidae, the gannet. [ 5 ] The English name booby was possibly based on the Spanish slang term bobo , meaning "stupid", [ 6 ] as these tame birds had a habit of landing on board sailing ships, where they were easily captured and eaten.
Also defined: seabird colony; breeding colony; communal roost; heronries; rookery. A large congregation of individuals of one or more species of bird that nest or roost in proximity at a particular location. Many kinds of birds are known to congregate in groups of varying size; a congregation of nesting birds is called a breeding colony.
Gannets can achieve speeds of 100 km/h (62.13 mph) as they strike the water, enabling them to catch fish at a much greater depth than most airborne birds. [ 5 ] The gannet's supposed capacity for eating large quantities of fish has led to "gannet" becoming a description of somebody with a voracious appetite.
The magnificent frigatebird (Fregata magnificens), frigate petrel [2] or man o' war [3] is a seabird of the frigatebird family Fregatidae.With a length of 89–114 centimetres (2 ft 11 in – 3 ft 9 in) and wingspan of 2.17–2.44 m (7 ft 1 in – 8 ft 0 in) it is the largest species of frigatebird.
Larger species, such as the great skua, regularly kill and eat adult seabirds, such as puffins and gulls and have been observed killing birds as large as a grey heron. [5] On the breeding grounds, the three, more slender northern breeding species commonly eat lemmings. Those species that breed in the southern oceans largely feed on fish that ...
The southern giant petrel (Macronectes giganteus), also known as the Antarctic giant petrel, giant fulmar, stinker, and stinkpot, is a large seabird of the southern oceans. Its distribution overlaps broadly with the similar northern giant petrel, though it overall is centered slightly further south.