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Seabird

black seabird flying against blue sky
The sooty tern is highly aerial and marine and spends months flying at sea, returning to land only for breeding.[1]
Raft of coastal seabirds[2] Gulf of St. Lawrence, Quebec, Canada

Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same environmental problems and feeding niches have resulted in similar adaptations. The first seabirds evolved in the Cretaceous period, and modern seabird families emerged in the Paleogene.

Seabirds generally live longer, breed later and have fewer young than other birds, but they invest a great deal of time in their young. Most species nest in colonies, varying in size from a few dozen birds to millions. Many species are famous for undertaking long annual migrations, crossing the equator or circumnavigating the Earth in some cases. They feed both at the ocean's surface and below it, and even on each other. Seabirds can be highly pelagic, coastal, or in some cases spend a part of the year away from the sea entirely.

Seabirds and humans have a long history together: They have provided food to hunters, guided fishermen to fishing stocks, and led sailors to land. Many species are currently threatened by human activities such as oil spills, nets, climate change and severe weather. Conservation efforts include the establishment of wildlife refuges and adjustments to fishing techniques.

  1. ^ BirdLife International (2020). "Onychoprion fuscatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T22694740A168895142. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22694740A168895142.en. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
  2. ^ Richards C; Padget O, Guilford T; Bates AE (October 31, 1921). "Manx shearwater (Puffinus puffinus) rafting behaviour revealed by GPS tracking and behavioural observations". PeerJ. 7. National Library of Medicine: e7863. doi:10.7717/peerj.7863. PMC 6812691. PMID 31656697. Before visiting or leaving their remote island colonies, seabirds in often engage in a behaviour termed 'rafting', where birds sit, often in groups, on the water close to the colony.

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