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This allows them to swim without fighting the buoyancy that retaining air in the feathers causes, yet retain enough air to prevent the bird losing excessive heat through contact with water. [ 23 ] The plumage of most seabirds is less colourful than that of land birds, restricted in the main to variations of black, white or grey. [ 16 ]
Some birds stay at colonies throughout the year but most birds fly to colonies in August to woo and sweep burrows for breeding. After mating, females leave colonies for one to six weeks for forming eggs. Males also leave but return to nest sites a few times. Eggs are laid from early September and to mid-October.
Male jacanas brood eggs between the wings and the body. This wing-brooding may be assisted by a special adaptation in the wing bones with either a broadening of the radius or a widening of the gap between the radius and ulna. Young chicks may also be held under the wing and transported to safety by the parent bird in some species. [21]
When predators such as the great black hawk attack a hoatzin nesting colony, the adults fly noisily about, trying to divert the predator's attention, while the chicks move away from the nest and hide among the thickets. If discovered, however, they drop into the water and swim under the surface to escape, then later use their clawed wings to ...
Nests are round bundles of dry plant material lined with soft materials such as feathers. They are built in holes in tree cavities, earth banks, rocky slopes, and within man-made structures or the nests of birds of prey. Two clutches of five or six eggs are typically laid in a season. Both parents construct the nest and care for their eggs and ...
With climate change spurring earlier springs across much of North America, many birds are laying their eggs earlier in the year, according to a new study – adding to mounting evidence that ...
Common eiders (Somateria mollissima) in the breeding season on Texel, the Netherlands. The common eider (pronounced / ˈ aɪ. d ər /) (Somateria mollissima), also called St. Cuthbert's duck or Cuddy's duck, is a large (50–71 cm (20–28 in) in body length) sea-duck that is distributed over the northern coasts of Europe, North America and eastern Siberia.
As the bird reached the shore, the rest of its brown-black body became visible. The cassowary appears to look at the camera several times, video footage shows. Its head has a mohawk-like helmet ...