The water bird is the most common. Birds and water as habitat

This article will focus on the fastest living creatures that live in water. At first glance, it seems that representatives water world not even close to being able to compete in speed with fast-footed land dwellers and birds. Indeed, the habitat itself - water, dense and viscous, does not predispose to moving at a very high speed. But it turned out that if the aquatic animals still “did not reach the fastest" flyers ", then the terrestrial representatives of the fauna are practically not inferior in speed. It is clear that speed for them is one of the most important qualities that allow them to survive in wildlife allowing the "hunter" to overtake the "victim", and the "victim" to escape from the "hunter". But what maximum speed able to develop the inhabitants of the seas, oceans and fresh water bodies? Let's consider the fastest of them ...

Tiger shark (lat.Galeocerdo cuvier) - 53 km / h

Tiger shark has a large mouth, in which there are many teeth with beveled tops. Such a mouth apparatus is adapted to feed on sea turtles. The speed of the turtles is about 35 km / h, and the speed of the tiger shark is 53 km / h. Why does she need such a large reserve of speed? Probably, in order not to become the prey of larger predators itself.



Killer whale (Latin Orcinus orca) - 55 km / h.
The picture shows killer whales off the coast of Alaska

Killer whale- marine mammal, cetacean order, toothed whale suborder, dolphin family. The only surviving modern representative of the genus of killer whales. This is the largest aquatic predator, which, nevertheless, develops a good speed - 55 km / h. As in the previous case, the killer whale needs this speed exclusively for hunting, because no one, except a person, attacks this animal. High speed qualities and considerable intelligence make the killer whale a very fast and dangerous predator.



Atlantic tarpon (Megalops atlanticus) - 56 km / h

Tarpon- a large fish that looks like a herring, but has nothing to do with it. Atlantic tarpon(Megalops atlanticus) can grow up to 2 meters in length, and its speed corresponds to its size - up to 56 km / h. Interestingly, when these fish lack oxygen, they can jump out of the water to literally gulp in air.



White-winged porpoise (Phocoenoides dalli) - 56 km / h

White-winged porpoise, or Dahl's porpoise- a mammal reaching a length of 1.8-2 meters, and a newborn individual - 1 m. Males have characteristic features that distinguish them from females (hump in front of the tail, sloping front, and others). White-winged porpoises live in groups (about 20 individuals). They can sail at a speed of just over 56 km / h. Porpoises are predators. They feed on fish and cephalopods, which are hunted at night.



Blue, or blue shark (Prionace glauca) - 69 km / h

Blue, or blue shark- a species of cartilaginous fish from the family of gray sharks. It is widely distributed throughout the world and lives both in the ocean and along the coast, and is one of the most common sharks on Earth. It has an elongated body with elongated pectoral fins. It is quite large in size and can reach a length of 4 meters. The name of this shark corresponds to its color (blue back and blue belly). The speed that this fairly common subtropical shark is capable of developing is 65-69 km / h.



Yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) - 70 km / h

Yellowfin tuna- fish from the mackerel family, which plays a significant role in the fishing industry. Found in all tropical and temperate latitudes of the world's oceans, but absent in the Mediterranean. It has an impressive size for commercial fish - 2-2.5 meters in length, and weighs up to 200 kg. Its grayish body is crossed by about 20 longitudinal white-yellow lines. These large fish are capable of swimming at speeds up to 70 km / h.



Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) - 74 km / h

Atlantic bluefin tuna Is one of the fastest fish. It can reach speeds of up to 74 km / h. Bluefin tuna got its name from its color: the back is blue-gray, bluish in color, and the belly is silvery. These fish are warm-blooded, which is quite rare in fish. This makes fish thrive in both cold and warm waters.



Mackerel (Scomber) - 77 km / h

Few people know that such a common commercial fish as mackerel(Scomber), is capable of developing very high speed. During spawning or in a throw, it can swim at speeds up to 70-77 km / h. Interestingly, mackerels are kept in large groups, in which all fish are of the same size.



Marlin (lat.Makaira) - 80 km / h.
The picture shows the Indo-Pacific blue marlin

Marlins from the family of sailing fish in body length can be compared with some species of sharks, as they can grow up to 4 m, but in terms of speed, marlins significantly outrun sharks and many other aquatic inhabitants. These fish can race at a speed of 80 km / h. It is interesting that the hero of the story "The Old Man and the Sea" (E. Hemingway) was hunting for marlin.



Sailfish (Istiophorus platypterus) - 109 km / h

The fastest fish also belongs to the marlin family. Sailfish got into the Guinness Book of Records due to the incredible speed that it can develop. The fish has a characteristic sail-shaped dorsal fin, which gave the species its name. When sailboats are sailing at high speed, the dorsal, anal and pelvic fins are folded and retracted into special recesses on the body of the fish. The sailboat is an active predator and can reach speeds of up to 100 km / h. During a series of tests carried out at the Long Key fishing camp, Florida, USA, the sailboat swam 91 m in 3 seconds, which is equivalent to a speed of 109 km / h.

1. The very first representative of the species, from which most modern birds descended, was Archeopteryx. He possessed traits characteristic of both reptiles and birds.

2. Birds are definitely descended from dinosaurs. But, from which group - among evolutionary biologists there is no consensus yet.

3. The American white-chinned goat has a trait unique among its congeners - the ability to hibernate. This is done by those of them who live among desert landscapes, since during the winter season, the number of insects that feed on them sharply decreases. Having huddled in the desert crevices, they wait out the winter, like witches.

4. Wrens can feed about 500 insects and caterpillars to their chicks during one summer day.

5. Hummingbirds can flap their wings up to 50 per second, which is a record among all bird species on the planet. This allows them not only to hover in place, but also to fly backward and downward.

6. California earthen cuckoos eat almost anything they can catch: large insects, scorpions and tarantulas, lizards, snakes and small rodents.

7. Peregrine falcon - the fastest Living being in the world. Pursuing prey, in a dive flight, it is capable of speeds up to 320 km / h.

8. Feathers are a defining feature unique to birds. They provide hydro and thermal insulation to their body.

9. The most big bird in the world - an ostrich. Although he cannot fly, he can reach speeds of up to 70 kilometers per hour while running.

10. Thanks to special glands that act as purification filters, the seagull can drink even salty sea water.

11. When traveling from the Arctic to Antarctica and back, the Arctic tern covers a distance of 32,000 kilometers.

12. The penguin is the only bird that walks upright and can swim, but not fly.

13. Emperor penguin colonies can number up to 40,000 individuals.

14. Chicken is the most widespread type of bird in the world.

15. The blackbird flycatcher is the only poisonous bird in the world. The fact is that it feeds on poisonous beetles, and even its skin and feathers are saturated with poisonous creatures. However, this does not bother the bird itself, since it has developed a strong immunity.

16. Albatross can sleep right during the flight.

17. Crows have the largest brain volume in relation to total body weight.

18. The goose was the first bird domesticated by man.

19. Singing mockingbirds can imitate the human voice, and imitate a variety of sounds - from the meow of a cat to the creak of the front door.

Many birds feel confident not only in the air, but also on the water. This is a habitat, food base. Define, what waterfowl, succeeds on the basis of studying birds, their ability to stay on the surface. They are not related species, but they have many common features: interdigital membranes, dense plumage, coccygeal gland.

Between themselves waterfowl do not form food competition, obtain food in different ways, specialize in their feed. Each species occupies its own ecological niche. There are no herbivorous species among them. Birds either adhere to predators, or to omnivorous gluttons.

Waterfowl are represented by the following groups:

  • anseriformes;
  • loons;
  • toadstools;
  • pelican-like;
  • penguin-like;
  • crane-like;
  • charadriiformes.

Representatives of the anseriformes in full complement lead aquatic or semi-aquatic life. All have a membrane on three fingers, a flattened beak, plates on the sides of the tongue for filtering food. Species of goose and duck subfamilies live in Russia.

Gogol

A small compact duck with a white neck, belly and sides. Wide tail of almost black color, greenish tint on the head and back. The body length is 40-50 cm, the wingspan is on average 75-80 cm, the weight is 0.5 - 1.3 kg. Inhabits remote taiga reservoirs. In cold weather, silverware of Europe, Asia, southern Russia, and sometimes the middle zone flies to the territory.

White Goose

The name reflects the main color of the bird, which has only flight feathers with a black tint. Beak, pink legs. Body length is 70-75 cm, wingspan is 120-140 cm, weight is about 2.5-3 kg. The bird nests in the arctic zone, on the coasts of Greenland, eastern Chukotka, and the Kola Peninsula.

Ogar

Red water bird belongs to the duck family. Bright orange plumage gives an elegant look to the cautious inhabitant of the reservoirs of Europe and Asia. Flight wings, black paws. - excellent swimmers and divers. They run well on the ground. In flight, they resemble geese. In length, the birds reach 65 cm. They live in pairs, only by autumn they gather in flocks.

Bean

A large goose with a massive beak. Dark brown plumage, light areas on the chest. The small transverse pattern makes the look openwork. Orange legs and a transverse stripe above the beak add bright accents to the color. The body length is 80-90 cm, the weight is about 4.5 kg, the wingspan is on average 160 cm. It lives on water bodies and in the forests of the tundra, forest-tundra,.

Canada goose

Large waterfowl with a long neck, small head. The body is about 110 cm long, the wingspan is 180 cm, the weight of the individual does not exceed 6.5 kg. The head and neck are black; the back, sides, belly are grayish-brown with whitish lines. Paws are black.

The species is common on the British Isles, reservoirs of Sweden, Finland, the islands of Ladoga and the Gulf of Finland.

Common eider

A large diving duck with a long tail. Powerful lead-colored beak without outgrowths. The black cap adorns the bird's head, chest, coverts, and the neck is pure white. Yellow-green spots below the ears. The body length is 60-70 cm, the wingspan is about 100 cm, the weight is 2.5-3 kg.

Loon family consists of closely related species that live in the northern regions, Europe, Asia - the cold zone of the northern hemisphere. In comparison with ducks, they fly fast and maneuverable. These are birds with an ancient history among modern birds.

Red-throated loon

A small bird with a curved beak. A chestnut-red spot on the front of the neck. The plumage is gray with white ripples. Body length is 60 cm, wingspan is about 115 cm, weight is about 2 kg.

For nesting, the bird chooses tundra and taiga zones. Winters in the Mediterranean, the Black Sea coast, the Atlantic Ocean. A thick layer of fluff and a thick cover of feathers, subcutaneous fat are saved from hypothermia.

Black throated loon

The bird is medium in size. Body length up to 70 cm, wingspan up to 130 cm, body weight up to 3.4 kg. The beak is straight, black. Dark outfit with white splashes. Inhabits water bodies of northern Eurasia, America. The bird loves places along the hilly shores.

The screams of a loon, similar to loud laughter, are widely known.

In case of danger, the birds do not take off, but dive, folding their wings on their backs from getting wet. Special fat of the coccygeal gland, which is covered with waterfowl feathers, provides water resistance.

Black-billed (polar) loon

The size of the bird is the largest among its relatives. Characteristic differences in the dark green color of the head and the shape of the beak, resembling a dagger. In cold weather they fly away to the seas with warm waters. On flights, they move in scattered groups. Pairs of loons last a lifetime. Birds live for about 20 years.

Grebe – big family of waterfowl, including 22 types. The name originated from the food perception of their peculiar meat with an unpleasant fish smell. Members of the family are often mistaken for ducks, but there are many differences between them.

They are excellent divers thanks to their strong short legs that do not have webbing between the toes, but are equipped with side paddles for paddling.

Great crested grebe (great toadstool)

Birds live on ponds, lakes, and like reed thickets. not to be found on land, it even takes off after taking off from the water. The neck remains white in front all year round. It feeds on fry and invertebrates. Swims with deep immersion in water.

Black-necked toadstool

The size is inferior to the crested grebe. Body length up to 35 cm, weight up to 600 g. Occurs in shallow water bodies with thickets of plants in Europe, Africa, in the western United States. With a cold snap, birds fly from the northern zones to the southern reservoirs. They lead a sedentary life.

According to the name, the neck and head are black, with yellow tufts of feathers on the ears. On the sides there are red feathers, the belly is white. The main feature is blood-red eyes. Chicks have red spots between eyes and beak.

Little grebe

The smallest representative among congeners in size. Weight is only 150-370 g, wing length is about 100 mm. The top is dark, with a brown tinge, the belly is off-white. The neck is chestnut in front. White mirrors on the wings. The eyes are yellow with a reddish iris.

It settles in shallow lakes and slow-flowing rivers. Unlike ducks, which warm their frozen feet in their belly feathers, toadstools raise them to the sides above the water.

Pelican-like (copepods) members of the family are distinguished by a swimming membrane between all four fingers. Legs-paddles and long wings allow many to confidently swim and fly, but they walk awkwardly. There are many differences between birds in appearance and lifestyle.

Cormorant

The bird is large, up to 1 m long, weighing 2-3 kg, wingspan about 160 cm. Black-blue plumage with a whitish spot on the throat, which disappears by winter. Powerful hooked beak.

Widely distributed in reservoirs rich in fish. Individuals are sedentary, migratory and nomadic. The cormorant's feathers become wet, so it often dries them when it sits upright and spreads its wings to the sides.

Curly pelican

The curled feathers on the forehead, head, and underwings give the bird a unique shaggy appearance. Paws are dark gray. Body length up to 180 cm, wingspan over 3 m, weight on average 8-13 kg.

Public bird, forms colonies. In the hunt, they act collectively: they surround the shoals and flapping their wings through the water drive the fish to places where it is easier to catch. Curly and pink pelicans are rare waterfowl of Russia included in the Red. Breeds on the Caspian coast, shores Sea of ​​Azov.

Pink pelican

The name reflects the delicate shade of the plumage, which is enhanced on the ventral side. In flight, flight feathers of black color are clearly visible. Notable for the powerful waterfowl beaks, up to 46 cm long.

Pink hunt for large prey: carp, cichlids. One bird needs 1-1.2 kg of fish per day.

Ascension frigate

Lives on the islands of the Atlantic Ocean. The plumage of a large bird is black, the head has a green tint. Thymus sac is red. The peculiarity of the food consists in catching flying fish.

Penguin-like representatives, or penguins,- flightless seabirds of 18 species, but excellent swimming and diving. The streamlined bodies are ideal for movement in the water. Evolution has turned bird wings into fins. The average speed of movement of penguins in the water is 10 km / h.

Powerful musculature and dense bone skeleton ensure their confident stay in the depths of the sea. Color, like many marine life, camouflage: the back is gray-blue, with a black tint, white belly.

Live in an environment of harsh climatic conditions... Anatomically, they are adapted to extreme cold conditions. Thermal insulation is provided by a layer of fat, up to 3 cm, three-layer waterproof feathers. Internal blood flow is designed in such a way that heat loss is minimized. One bird colony includes several thousand individuals.

Crane birds were among the first to lose their ability to fly. Many species are distributed over continents, except for zones and. Kindred differ significantly in appearance and size. There are crumbs from 20 cm and giant birds up to 2 m.

Sun heron

Lives in tropical regions of America near water bodies: wetlands, lakes, bays.

Variegated plumage of gray-brown shades, with the addition of yellow-green, white, black tones. Size in length up to 53 cm, weight on average 200-220 g. Long neck in the throat of white color. The legs are orange, long. Fan tail with dark horizontal stripes. The obtained food items (frogs, fish, tadpoles) are rinsed by the heron in the water before eating.

Arama (Shepherd's Crane)

Inhabits the territories of the American continent, overgrown with vegetation near freshwater marshes. They fly badly, clumsily trying to escape from dangers.

The loud screams they emit serve as a means of protection. The body length of the crane is up to 60 cm, its weight is no more than 1 kg, and the wingspan is on average 1 m. Birds get food from the bottom of the reservoir - snails, mussels, reptiles. The diet includes frogs and insects.

Siberian Crane (White Crane)

Large bird with a wingspan of about 2.3 m, an average weight of 7-8 kg, a height of up to 140 cm. The beak is longer than that of other cranes and is red. The plumage is white, except for the black primary feathers. The legs are long.

Nesting of Siberian Cranes takes place exclusively in Russia. He finds his favorite places in the deserted Yakut tundra or on the swampy Ob regions. In winter, birds migrate to India, Iran, China.

The peculiarity of Siberian Cranes is a strong attachment to water bodies. Their entire structure is aimed at moving on sticky soil. Siberian Cranes never feed on agricultural land, they avoid humans. A beautiful and rare endangered bird.

African Poinfoot

The name reflects the range of birds - rivers and lakes on the African continent, south of the Sahara and Ethiopia. The peculiarity of the Poinfoot is in deep diving during swimming, in which only the head and neck are visible. In danger, it can run on water with short ups and downs.

The length of the bird is about 28-30 cm. The color is green-brown on top, white on the belly. There are two white stripes on the sides of the head.

Coot (water chicken)

Small bird, similar to an ordinary duck, but of a uniform black color with a white spot on the head. From a distance, a light leathery plate resembles a bald spot, which gave rise to the corresponding name.

The short beak is similar in shape to that of a chicken. Yellowish paws with long gray toes. It is ubiquitous in Europe, Kazakhstan, Central Asia, North Africa. Prefers shallow water, thickets of reeds, sedges, reeds. Black waterfowl - fishing object.

Charadriiformes aquatic birds are represented by many species, different in size, lifestyle. Attachment to water bodies and anatomical features bring these birds closer together.

Sea gulls

Among the relatives, they are distinguished by large sizes: weight about 2 kg, body length 75 cm, wingspan 160-170 cm. The plumage is predominantly white, except for the upper feathers of black on the wings. The flight speed is 90-110 km / h.

Oystercatchers

Contrasting plumage of black and white colors. Paws, beak of a bright orange-red color, circles around the eyes of the same shade. Oystercatchers are common along the sea coasts, except for the polar zones. The beak is long, adapted for breaking sea prey on stones.

Sicklebeak

They are found in Central Asia, in Altai in groups along rocky rivers in mountainous regions. It is important for them to have nesting islands. It often hunts in shallow water. A remarkable curved red beak helps to look for prey between rocks at the bottom of water bodies.

Swimmers

Small birds that spend most of their time on the water. They swim great, but don't dive. They feed on food from the surface or immersing their heads, like a duck, under water for hunting. Holds like floats, with a high fit. Mostly found in tundra water bodies.

The aquatic lifestyle has united birds that know how to stay on the surface. This unbreakable bond fills their lifestyle with special content. Waterfowl in the photo reflect the harmony of the air and water spheres of nature.

Most birds bathe by cleaning their plumage. Swallows, swifts and terns plunge into the water several times in a row. Other birds, standing or crouching in shallow water, shake their fluffed feathers, trying to wet them evenly. Some forest species bathe in rainwater or dew that has accumulated on leaves. The birds dry up, fluffing and shaking their feathers, cleaning them with their beak and flapping their wings.

Birds lubricate themselves with fat, which is secreted by the coccygeal gland at the base of the tail. They apply it to the feathers with their beak, thereby making them water-repellent and more elastic. To lubricate the plumage of the head, birds use their beak to rub their legs with fat, and then scratch their heads with them.

Drink salt water

Seagulls drink salty sea water because their glands are adapted to filter salt.

Can Swim, But Can't Fly: The Penguin is the only bird that can swim but cannot fly. It is also the only standing bird.

The most frost-resistant: Ducks and geese are least afraid of the cold. They can withstand temperatures down to -110 ° C, while polar bears and seals only up to -80 ° C. The emperor penguin can withstand cold temperatures up to 60 degrees C.

In penguins, feathers grow evenly. Only a few birds have feathers that grow evenly throughout the body; these are usually flightless species such as penguins.

Penguins harden their eggs. During the egg-laying period, female penguins swallow a significant number of mollusk and mussel shells. This gives the penguins the extra calcium they need to make the eggshells stronger. Fortified eggs have a better chance of not breaking against hard surfaces, which is also possible during the duels of penguins, when they throw eggs at each other - this is 43% of cases of egg destruction.

In principle, males also swallow mollusks together with shells, but females absorb much more.

They smell fish. It has been experimentally proven that, for example, large seabirds, fulmars and petrels, smell fish three kilometers away. But albatrosses smell the bait (a piece of bacon) as much as thirty kilometers!

Ducks chemically attract drakes

And one more curious observation. In the spring, a group of wild ducks had their nostrils closed. And the drakes immediately ceased to show interest in females. It is believed that female ducks secrete some kind of chemical that attracts males.

Breathing without nostrils. In most birds, the nostrils lead into the nasal cavities at the base of the beak. However, in cormorants, gannets and some other species, nostrils are absent, and they are forced to breathe through the mouth. Air entering the nostrils or mouth is directed to the larynx, from which the trachea begins.

Which feet to walk on the water? Birds walking in shallow waters such as herons and stilts have long legs. Birds that walk on carpets of floating leaves and bogs have long fingers and claws to keep them from falling through. Penguins have short and thick legs located far behind the center of gravity. For this reason, they can only walk with their bodies upright in short steps. If it is necessary to move faster, they lie on their belly and slide like on a sleigh, pushing off the snow with flipper-like wings and legs.

The best diver. Penguins find their prey at a depth of 10 - 20 m from the surface of the ocean. He spends every hour at a depth of 5 to 40 minutes or more at depth. The emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) is capable of diving to a depth of more than 200 m. The greatest diving depth among birds was recorded in 1990 in the Ross Sea, off the coast of Antarctica. One of the emperor penguins (then dived to a depth of 483 m).

What are penguins doing at a depth of one and a half kilometers? Japanese biologists have installed cameras on the backs of animals that spend a long time in the depths of the sea. As the authors of the project explain, the sun's rays penetrate only 150 meters deep into the ocean, so it is still unknown what they do at a half-kilometer depth, for example, emperor penguins or elephant seals, which can dive one and a half kilometers.

Penguins find their prey at a depth of 10 - 20 m from the surface of the ocean. He spends every hour at a depth of 5 to 40 minutes or more at depth. The emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) is capable of diving to a depth of more than 200 m. The greatest diving depth among birds was recorded in 1990 in the Ross Sea, off the coast of Antarctica. One of the emperor penguins (then dived to a depth of 483 m).

Can sail for three weeks. The Patagonian penguin can swim for two to three weeks and cover a distance of up to 1500 km.

The fastest swimmer. Gentoo penguin (Pygoscelis papua) can swim at speeds up to 27 km / h.

How birds swim

Birds swim by alternating strokes with their legs, usually equipped with membranes or lobes on the toes, acting like oars. A wide body provides stability to waterfowl, and their dense feather cover contains air that increases buoyancy. The ability to swim is generally required for birds foraging underwater. Swans, geese and some ducks practice incomplete diving in shallow waters: turning their tail up and stretching their necks down, they get food from the bottom.

Dive into the water from a height

Boobies (Sulidae), pelicans, terns and other fish-eating species dive into the water from summer, and the height of the fall depends on the size of the bird and the depth that they seek to reach. Thus, heavy gannets, falling like a stone from a height of 30 m, plunge into the water to 3–3.6 m. Light-bodied terns dive from a lower height and plunge only a few centimeters.

Dive from the surface of the water

Penguins, Gavia immer loons, toadstools, Clangula hyemalis diving ducks and many other birds dive from the surface of the water. Lacking the momentum of diving divers, they use the movements of their legs and / or wings to dive. In these species, the legs are usually located at the rear end of the torso, like a propeller under the stern of a ship. When submerged, they can reduce buoyancy by pressing the feathers tightly and squeezing air sacs.

Seagulls that can swim underwater

Guillemots (Alcidae) - typical seabirds, relatives of gulls and skuas, have learned to swim and dive beautifully. The ability to quickly adapt to aquatic life conditions led to active speciation - they are the most diverse and numerous in the North Pacific. Currently, 23 species from 11 genera are known. Acutibirds are characterized by a fusiform body shape, a dense feather cover, a short tail, webbed feet and relatively narrow wings that fold into a kind of oars when diving.

Excellent divers

Probably, for most birds, the maximum diving depth from the water surface is close to 6 m.However, the black-billed polar loon Gavia immer can dive to 18 m, and the long-tailed duck Clangula hyemalis  to approximately 60 m.

The Evil Penguin

Stone penguins are characterized by a very evil character, loud and aggressive.

The fool shoots a predator with the liquid content of his stomach

The northern fulmar seabird is capable of shooting a predator with the liquid content of its stomach. The foolish person usually eats fish, does not disdain the waste left after the division of the seal carcasses, and therefore it is not surprising that a thick mass accumulates in his stomach with an ineradicable smell of fish oil. Recent observations have shown that the bird shoots a fetid mass with great accuracy at a distance of up to two meters. The chick, and he already has the skill of a sniper. Fulmars use their weapons mainly against birds of prey... Fat "spit", falling into an owl, a seagull or a crow, permanently incapacitates the bird - it sticks feathers together. A spattered predator can neither fly nor swim, and sometimes even dies from the cold - after all, clean, loose feathers create good thermal insulation around the bird's body.

Global warming on the planet has cut the nutritious diet seabirds

After a sudden change in climate in 1977, when the water in the Bering Sea and the adjacent Gulf of Alaska was 2 degrees above normal in winter, a change in the well-oiled rhythm of seabirds began. While the crab population remained largely unchanged, populations of a large and rich species of fish, Mallotus villosus, and cod were severely affected. This temperature change could be important factor for declines in seabird abundance. For example, to reach their previous population size, seabirds must almost double their diet on fish, which is already in short supply on those on the market.

Where colonial birds nest

The main place in Primorye, where colonial seabirds nest, is Peter the Great Bay, located in the extreme south of the region. Its water area is about 55,600 sq. Km. Numerous rocky islands, up to 200 m high and an indented coastline with shallow bays, create good conditions for nesting and feeding of numerous seabirds. About 100,000 colonial birds nest here; the most numerous of them is the black-tailed gull. Peter the Great Bay is the only nesting place in Russia for two representatives of the Trumpet-nosed order - the fork-tailed storm petrel Oceanodroma and the variegated petrel Calonectris leucomelas. In addition, there is reason to believe that the rarest bird, the crested old man, nests here.

In the Peter the Great Bay, 100,000-200,000 winter annually water birds: guillemots, baby buzzards, pacific and dove gulls, bering cormorants and different kinds sea ​​ducks.

What determines the growth of populations of seabirds

The prosperity of populations does not always depend on the food supply, since the abundance of food does not always mean its availability. The impressive number of seabirds is the result of a succession of successful seasons, when both weather and nature have contributed to the successful breeding and survival of birds. Small differences in the dates of ice breakdown, temperature or salinity of waters can lead to noticeable fluctuations in seabird abundance. Moreover, climatic oddities of recent years have brought some seabird populations to the brink of extinction.

The number of bird colonies in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk

The length of the continental shores of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk is about 8.6 thousand km. and island - up to 1.7 thousand km. At least 600 seabird colonies found on rocky coastlines total number about 12.8 million per bay. Most of them - about 9.5 million or 75% - are confined to the northern part of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk: Yamskiy archipelago (7.5 million), Shelikhov Bay (0.75 million), Olan (1.3 million), the coast and islands of Tauiskaya Bay (0.05 million) ... The rookeries are mainly composed of birds of the auks family: (97%), as well as tube-nosed (fulmars, storm petrels), copepods (cormorants), gulls (kittiwakes, pacific gulls).

Pacific seagulls trample vegetation on the island

On the Pacific island, from 350 to 500 thousand pairs of gulls can nest. During the day, in search of food, the birds fly into the sea for many tens of kilometers, and in the evening, returning to the island, they arrange a spectacular swarming in the sky. Tens of thousands of birds circling over the island until deep twilight, captivating the eye with the synchronization of movement and the suddenness of its changes. This gigantic flock will appear as a ball, then twist into a rope, then suddenly dive to the sea or soar to the rocks. This vociferous bird settles among the scree, forming dense multi-storey colonies.

Seagulls are born from flounder

In Kamchatka, there is also a species of river gulls, about which the Itelmens claim that they are born from a flounder. This gull builds its nest on land and lays two eggs; from one as if a flounder emerges, from the other - a seagull.

Fool the size of an eagle

The foolish gull is similar in size to ordinary river gulls, but among them there are also such specimens that are in no way inferior in size to the largest eagle or goose. They have a large yellowish bent beak, large eyes like owls, and the color of their plumage is dark brown with white spots all over the body.

Controls the weather

The Itelmens consider it a grave sin to kill a sea magpie, because it seems to lead to a change in the weather, which immediately afterwards deteriorates. The bird called Pica marina gallorum, the French sea magpie, is often found in summer at sea and on the rivers of Kamchatka and Sakhalin.

Seabirds are destroying the reserve

A real war was declared against the cormorants in the Obitochnaya Kosa nature reserve, located on the shores of the Azov Sea in the Zaporozhye region. Flocks of these seemingly harmless birds flew here from the Danube in the 90s - people created unbearable conditions for them in the floodplains of the river. The islands of the Sea of ​​Azov turned out to be an ideal habitat for birds.

Today the colony in the reserve numbers more than 20 thousand cormorants, and each bird eats up to a kilogram of fish a day. As a result, the fish stocks of the Azov Sea are reduced by 20 tons per day, and the cormorant eats just the commercial fish - goby and pike perch. The gluttony of the cormorant turned into another disaster: the reserve was covered with a layer of dung, poisonous for trees, which were hardly grown three decades ago on an area of ​​40 hectares. On the recommendation of scientists, huntsmen destroy nests and frighten cormorants in order to force the birds to fly to another place.

Seabirds spread radiation

Seabird excrement can introduce radioactive isotopes into food webs. In temperate latitudes, the risk of such pollution is low, but in the closest approaches to the Arctic, it can be much greater. It is there that guano - bird droppings - is the main source of nutrients for plants, which are then eaten by animals.

Seabird excrement samples from two large colonies are 10 times more radioactive than all other soil samples. Birds eat contaminated fish and crustaceans, and isotopes are concentrated in feces. An excess of nutrients in them encourages plant growth, and the latter thus concentrate radioactive substances. And this is already a serious problem - after all, plants are included in the diet of many animals, especially reindeer.

Radioactive materials enter the oceans as a result of natural geological processes on the seabed. Contributes and human activity... In the Arctic, for example, in the Kara Sea, there is a warehouse of radioactive waste; radioactive substances get into the seas as a result of atmospheric tests of nuclear weapons, accidents at nuclear facilities.

Tens of thousands of chick penguins could starve to death

Their parents, foraging on the shores of Antarctica, were barred home by a huge iceberg with an area of ​​more than three thousand square kilometers. Scientists estimate that this block of ice could fill the Egyptian Nile River for 80 years. Now, to return to their native nests, penguins will have to make a detour 100 kilometers. During this time, according to scientists, only a few chicks will be able to survive

 

It might be helpful to read: