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The plumage of most seabirds is less colourful than that of land birds, restricted in the main to variations of black, white or grey. [20] A few species sport colourful plumes (such as the tropicbirds and some penguins), but most of the colour in seabirds appears in the bills and legs.
The term seabird is used for many families of birds in several orders that spend the majority of their lives at sea. Seabirds make up some, if not all, of the families in the following orders: Procellariiformes, Sphenisciformes, Pelecaniformes, and Charadriiformes. Many seabirds remain at sea for several consecutive years at a time, without ...
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.
The nest is a burrow, often previously excavated by a European rabbit, although shearwaters can dig their own holes. Suitable holes under rocks may also be used. The burrows may be reused in subsequent years. [4] The single white egg averages 61 mm × 42 mm (2 + 1 ⁄ 2 in × 1 + 3 ⁄ 4 in) and weighs 57 g (2 oz), of which 7% is shell. [32]
The black noddy (Anous minutus), also known as white-capped noddy, is a species of tern in the family Laridae. It is a medium-sized seabird with black plumage and a white cap that closely resembles the lesser noddy with which it was at one time considered conspecific. The black noddy has slightly darker plumage and dark rather than pale lores.
The egg is oval, off-white in color with lavender, gray and brown highlights. [29] Both parents take turns incubating the egg over about 41 days, and spend another forty days raising the chick. The fledgling leaves the nest alone and at night, making its way towards open water, then quickly dives and swims away to begin independent life. [18] [19]
The majority of procellariiforms nest once a year and do so seasonally. [69] Some tropical shearwaters, like the Christmas shearwater, are able to nest on cycles slightly shorter than a year, and the large great albatrosses (genus Diomedea) nest in alternate years (if successful). Most temperate and polar species nest over the spring-summer ...
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). Bird strike Aviation records from the United States show most collisions occur below 600 m (2,000 ft) and almost none above 1,800 m (5,900 ft).