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In most seabird colonies several different species will nest on the same colony, often exhibiting some niche separation. 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. Colony size is a major aspect of the social environment of colonial birds.
Many seabirds remain at sea for several consecutive years at a time, without ever seeing land. Breeding is the central purpose for seabirds to visit land. The breeding period (courtship, copulation, and chick-rearing) is usually extremely protracted in many seabirds and may last over a year in some of the larger albatrosses ; [ 1 ] [ 2 ] this ...
Seabirds (mostly northern fulmars) flocking at a long-lining vessel. Some seabird species have benefited from fisheries, particularly from discarded fish and offal. These discards compose 30% of the food of seabirds in the North Sea, for example, and compose up to 70% of the total food of some seabird populations. [76]
Gulls, skuas and jaegers feed on the eggs and chicks. [2] The larger water birds also prey upon the adults, leaving young chicks exposed to the harsh weather conditions and starvation. The Antarctic tern will defend its nest against any intruders by repeated dive bombing, occasionally striking them with their sharp bill. [10]
The colonies are 1,200–1,800 m (3,900–5,900 ft) above sea level at a distance of 12–18 km (7.5–11.2 mi) from the coast. [ 56 ] [ 57 ] Other exceptions are Barau's petrel ( Pterodroma baraui ) that breeds at 2,700 m (8,900 ft) on the island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean, [ 58 ] and the snow petrel ( Pagodroma nivea ) that breeds in ...
The eggs and chicks of other seabirds, primarily penguins, are an important food source for most skua species during the nesting season. [ 6 ] In the southern oceans and Antarctica region, some skua species (especially the south polar skua ) will readily scavenge carcasses at breeding colonies of both penguins and pinnipeds .
The name comes from the Old Norse Fúlmár meaning "foul-mew" or "foul-gull" because of the birds' habit of ejecting a foul-smelling oil. [2] The type species was designated by George Gray in 1855 as the northern fulmar. [3] [4] As members of Procellaridae and then the order Procellariiformes, they share certain traits.
The genus Sula was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760. [3] The type species is the brown booby. [4] The name is derived from súla, the Old Norse and Icelandic word for the other member of the family Sulidae, the gannet.