Seabirds
Eukaryotes - Kingdom Animalia
General Characteristics
- Homeotherms/endotherms - warm blooded
- Requires lots of energy to maintain body temperature
- Bodies covered in waterproof feathers
- Oil produced in gland at base of tail and preened into feather
- Flight made easier because of hollow bones, some have webbed feet
- Eggs have hard shells - more protected and resistant to water loss
- Spend a significant amount of time at sea (but nest on land) and feed on marine organisms
- Only 3% of bird species, but can be found all over the world
- Most eat fish, squid, bottom invertebrates
Penguins
- Flightless, wings modified to flippers for swimming
- Bones are denser to reduce buoyancy and make diving easier
- Nearsighted - eyes adapted for underwater vision
- Layer of fat helps insulate from cold
- Different species:
- Chinstrap penguin
- Yellow-eyed penguins
- Adelie penguins
- Rockhopper penguin
- Gentoo penguin
- King penguin
Tubenoses
- Albatross and petrel
- Tube-like nostrils, heavy beaks with a curved tip
- Salt glands get rid of excess salt
- SKillful fliers
- Catch fish at sea surface
Pelicans
- Closely related to cormorants and frigate birds
- Webbing between all four toes
- Pouch below beaks for catching fish
- Nest in large colonies along the coast
- Excrement accumulates as guano, which is harvested for fertilizer
Gulls
- Closely related to terns and puffins
- Largest variety of seabirds
- Predators and scavengers
- Steal fish, nests, and eat eggs and young of other birds
Shorebirds
- No webbed feet, can't swim
- Live inland as well as the ocean
- Common in estuaries and coastal marshes
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