Marine Birds Marine birds are those living in and making their living from the marine environment, which includes coastal areas, islands, estuaries, wetlands, and oceanic islands. Consists of 328 species. Sphenisciformes -Penguins Procellariiformes -Albatrosses, petrels, storm-petrels, fulmars, shearwaters Ciconiiformes - Herons, egrets, storks, ibis, spoonbills Pelecaniformes - Pelicans, frigatebirds, gannets, boobies, cormorants, anhingas Charadrii formes - Shorebirds, skuas, j

1. BIOLOGY OF MARINE
BIRDS
Vinod Kumar
FRM

2. Marine Birds
Marine birds are those living in and making their living
from the marine environment, which includes coastal
areas, islands, estuaries, wetlands, and oceanic islands.
 Consists of 328 species.
1. Sphenisciformes -Penguins
2. Procellariiformes -Albatrosses, petrels, storm-petrels,
fulmars, shearwaters
3. Ciconiiformes - Herons, egrets, storks, ibis, spoonbills
4. Pelecaniformes - Pelicans, frigatebirds, gannets,
boobies, cormorants, anhingas
5. Charadriiformes - Shorebirds, skuas, jaegers, gulls,
terns, skimmers, auks, guillemots, puffins

8. Features and Adaptations
 Waterproof feathers
 Feathers are lightweight and help insulate the
animal’s body, allowing it to maintain a higher
temperature than its surroundings.
 Marine birds have internal fertilization.
 They lay amniotic eggs that are more resistant to
water loss .
 The parent provides extensive care until the young
is grown.

11.  Birds that spend most of their time at sea have short,
stocky legs and partially webbed feet.
 Short legs work as oars and the webbed feet work as a
paddle.
 Curved projections at the tips help predatory birds.
 Colonial Living.
 Plumage and countershading.

12. Feeding Biology
 Surface-shoaling fish are very important to seabirds in
large areas of comparatively shallow waters (called neritic
waters) over the continental shelf.
 These fish include herrings, sardines, anchovies and sprats
(Clupeidae), sandeels (Ammodytidae), and capelin
(Osmeridae).

13.  In tropical regions, shoaling fish are less available and
most are chased by predators such as dolphins or
tunas.
 In these regions flying-fish and halfbeaks (Exocoetidae)
are the main prey of seabirds.
 Nevertheless, in polar regions fish are much less
important to seabirds, squid and crustaceans
(especially the Antarctic krill) being the main prey.

15. Feeding Strategies

17. Feeding strategies
 Pelicans, cormorants and frigate birds have a distensible
pouch to capture fish dive and scoop fish up in their
pouched bills and drain the water before swallowing
their catch.
 Cormorants- pursue fish under water, seizing their prey
with their hooked beaks
 Flamingos -filter small organisms out of the water

18.  Penguins- dive to great depths get their meals.
 Terns and gulls- soar over the water and catch fish at
the surface.
 Long billed, long legged birds- wade in shallow water
using their bills to probe in the mud or sand.

19. Feeding Ecology
Seabirds can be divided in two large sets, according to
their feeding ecology:
 Inshore feeders (e.g. gulls, terns, cormorants) and
offshore feeders (e.g. albatrosses, shearwaters,
petrels).
 The former breed mainly on mainland or islands
located close to the mainland coast and feed within
sight of land.
 The latter normally breed on oceanic islands and feed
out of sight of land.

20. Reproduction
 Breeding habitat varies - from ground or burrow nesting
at low elevations, to trees, cliffsides, or high elevation
forests.
 Long life (20 to 60 years), deferred maturity (breeding
age delayed to up to 10 years of age), small clutch size
(in many cases one egg), and extended chickrearing
periods (often up to 6 months).
 A unique attribute of the breeding biology of members
of the Procellariiformes - storage of significant quantities
of neutral lipids in the proventriculus and the feeding
of this "stomach oil" to their young.

21.  Clutch size - depend on proximity of foraging area.
 Factors affecting breeding:
a, Feeding
b, Weather and temperature
c, Age

24. Migration of seabirds
 Migration is the regular seasonal movement, often
north and south along a flyway, between breeding and
wintering ground.
 Terns and auks breeding in the temperate northern
hemisphere, move varying distances south in the
northern winter.
 The Arctic tern Sterna paradisaea has the longest-
distance migration , moving from its Arctic breeding
grounds to the Antarctic non-breeding areas.

25.  Many tubenosed birds breed in the southern
hemisphere and migrate north in the southern
winter.
 The most pelagic species, mainly in the 'tubenose'
order Procellariiformes, are great wanderers,

26. Conclusion
 In general, five orders of class Aves predominate
the group of seabirds.
 They are adapted for switch the habitat between
land and water.
 Modifications on bills and feet.
 Major features - long life, produce few number of
offsprings, extensive parental care.