Characteristic tubular nostrils located on top of the bill serve as a means of expelling saline solution from their large salt glands, located internally near the eye sockets. The salt glands allow these birds to drink sea-water without any harmful effects, since their kidneys cannot produce a concentrated urine. The horny structure of the exterior nostrils protects the internal nasal passageway from the irritating salt spray, and also serves as an opening to their very efficient olfactory organs. Petrels and shearwaters have an excellent sense of smell, which they use to find food, burrows, and other birds of their species.
These seabirds have oily, waterproof feathers and a dense undercoat of insulating down. Their webbed feet help them swim, and are also used, especially by the storm petrels, to patter upon the ocean surface in search of floating bits of food.
The strong bill has a food-grabbing hook on the end, and the typical dark, or dark-and-light plumage helps them blend into a monochromatic landscape.
The petrels and shearwaters have a characteristic musky odor arising from their stomach oils, which are used as a food for the young, as a defensive weapon (squirted when needed), and as additional waterproofing for their feathers.
Characteristic tubular nostrils located on top of the bill serve as a means of expelling saline solution from their large salt glands, located internally near the eye sockets. The salt glands allow these birds to drink sea-water without any harmful effects, since their kidneys cannot produce a concentrated urine. The horny structure of the exterior nostrils protects the internal nasal passageway from the irritating salt spray, and also serves as an opening to their very efficient olfactory organs. Petrels and shearwaters have an excellent sense of smell, which they use to find food, burrows, and other birds of their species.
These seabirds have oily, waterproof feathers and a dense undercoat of insulating down. Their webbed feet help them swim, and are also used, especially by the storm petrels, to patter upon the ocean surface in search of floating bits of food.
The strong bill has a food-grabbing hook on the end, and the typical dark, or dark-and-light plumage helps them blend into a monochromatic landscape.
The petrels and shearwaters have a characteristic musky odor arising from their stomach oils, which are used as a food for the young, as a defensive weapon (squirted when needed), and as additional waterproofing for their feathers.
solitary- establish territories on breeding grounds
migrato ry- prey abundance
eyes- reflect sound waves to ears, which are behind the eyes
white plumage- hide from predators
ARCTIC TERN
image credit - christoph meuller; creative commons licenseThe ARCTIC TERN is a small seabird that makes the longest migration of any bird - 22,000 miles or 35,000 km each year between the Arctic and the Antarctic. In May they arrive at their breeding grounds in the Arctic to nest and raise the young. In August the terns leave the Arctic to fly to the Antarctic.
DESCRIPTION
HABITAT, RANGE (map)
Dirk Ingo Franke ;Wikimedia; license - Creative Commons
FOOD
image from Wikipedia ; license - public domain
PROTECTION from ENEMIES
There are several adaptations that help Arctic terns survive in their habitat. They are excellent fliers and are able to fly long distances every year between the Arctic and the Antarctic. Terns spend most of their lives in the air except when nesting.
The shape of the tern's body makes it such a good flier. The Arctic tern has a small body with long pointed wings and a long pointed tail. Hollow bones makes the bird's body light.
The sharply pointed bill helps it catch food. The tern can hover over schools of fish, shrimp or krill and then dive down.
Before the long journey to the Arctic terns moult. They lose their old feathers and grow new ones for the flight.
They nest in colonies for protection against predators. Terns cry out loudly, swoop down at an intruder and attack. They will dive at the intruder's head over and over again.
image from Wikipedia ; license - public domain
MORE INTERESTING FACTS
The tern rests on blocks of ice at the edge of the pack ice in the Antarctic.
The Arctic Tern can live more than 20 years (up to 34 years old).
Most Arctic Terns return to the same area where they hatched.
Terns migrate offshore (over sea not land). The journey takes 90 days.
The COMMON TERN has longer legs, more black on the wings, lighter grey underparts, a shorter tail, and an orange-red bill with a black tip. The ROSEATE TERN is much paler, with a dark bill, longer legs and long white tail streamers. The FORSTER'S TERN has whiter wings and belly, orange bill with black tip and longer, brighter orange legs.
The word Petrel is derived from St peter and the story of his walking on water. This is in because of the Petrels appearing to run on the water to take off in flight.
Well, the process consists of two parents. That's all I'm gonna say.
snow petrels are pure white with black eyes and bill. they have bluish, grayish feet. snow petrels are smaller than pigeons and weigh about 1 pound
Petrels normally live in deep rock crevasses or in rocky cliffs.
a wird one that has people dropping boms every nown and then snow petrols are very dangerouse because they kill someone if they were pink. Help them conrol there anger manage ment contact angermanagement.com
blue petrels weght 200g
one of the snow petrels predators are skuas.
Snow petrels are distributed in the southern region of Antarctica.
Snow Petrels can live up to 20 years in the wild.
They move swiftly.
Snow petrels breed on Antarctica's beaches: they do not 'live' there. It's too cold and there is no food chain on the continent.
more than 1
== ==
Snow petrels are all white birds with black beaks and eyes. They are size of a pigeon and are at risk so predators when bending on bare rock.
they live in Darla world
Well, the process consists of two parents. That's all I'm gonna say.
22 pieces of fish
No, they breed at the other side of the world in Antarctica.