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Doubled crested Cormorant |
v Cormorants
are large aquatic birds, usually with mainly dark plumage and areas of colored
skin on the face. Their bill is long, thin, and sharply hooked. Their feet are
four-toed and webbed, a distinguishing feature of the Suliform order. They
are colonial nesters, using trees, rocky islets, or cliffs. The eggs are a
chalky-blue colour. There is usually one brood a year. Representative species include Double crested Cormorant,
Great Cormorant and Neotropic Cormorant.
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Anhinga |
v Anhinga,
according
to Peterson field guide are similar to Cormorants, but neck snakier, bill more
pointed and tail much longer. The Anhinga sometimes called Snakebird, Darter,
American Darter, or Water Turkey, is a water bird of the warmer parts of the
Americas. The word anhinga comes from the Brazilian Tupi language and means
devil bird or snake bird for its habit of swimming with just its long head and
neck sticking out of the water. It will perch for long
periods with its wings spread to allow the drying process, as do cormorants. If
it attempts to fly while its wings are wet, it has great difficulty getting off
the water and takes off by flapping vigorously while "running" on the
water.
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Red footed Booby |
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Brown Booby |

Gannets
and Booby are medium-large coastal seabirds that
plunge-dive for fish. They closely related to the booby. The gannets are
large black and white birds with yellow heads. They have long pointed wings and
long bills. Northern gannets are the largest seabirds in the North Atlantic,
with a wingspan of up to 2 meters. They hunt fish by
diving from a height into the sea and pursuing their prey underwater. They are colonial
breeders on islands and coasts. They normally lay one or more chalky-blue eggs
on the ground or sometimes in a tree nest. Representative species are Masked
Booby, Brown Booby, and Red footed Booby.
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Magnificent Frigatebirds |
v Frigatebirds
are large, black or black-and-white, with long wings and deeply forked tails.
The males have inflatable colored throat pouches. They do not swim or walk, and
cannot take off from a flat surface. Having the largest wingspan-to-weight
ratio of any bird, they are essentially aerial, able to stay aloft for more
than a week. They are also sometimes called Man of War birds or
Pirate birds. They are seasonally monogamous, and nest colonially.
A
single egg is laid each breeding season. The duration of parental care in
frigatebirds is the longest of any bird.
Sources:
Wikipedia
google image
Peterson field guide
Wikipedia
google image
Peterson field guide
Nice job!
ReplyDeleteThink we will see any other Suliformes (besides the Double-crested Cormorant) on any of our remaining field trips?
We might get a chance to see Northern gannets.
DeleteDoes the Northern Gannet fear any type of predation when it lays its eggs on see cliffs?
ReplyDeleteYes, They fear from Great Black-backed,Herring Gulls, Common Ravens, ermine, and red fox. The only known natural predator of adults is the Bald Eagle, though large sharks and seals may rarely snatch a gannet out at sea
DeleteThey they just lose their oil gland through evolution or did they just not have oil glands from the beginning? Wouldn't it be more energetically demanding to have your wings flared out all the time?
ReplyDeleteNice job!
ReplyDelete