Animal Encyclopedia Category: Seabirds

Ospreys are predatory and almost exclusively eat fish. They will nest next to any body of water that is large enough in which to hunt. They hunt from above, and snatch surface fishes directly out of the water, without getting their plumage wet. In order to blend in with sky and camouflage themselves from potential prey, ospreys are … Read more

Least storm petrels are excellent fliers and are known for their behavior of “dancing” along the sea surface, hunting for small pelagic prey. They primarily eat small crustaceans and other plankton and feed by scooping up their prey without landing on the water or getting their feathers wet. In this manner, they look like they are walking … Read more

Like many seagulls, the laughing gull eats a variety of prey and will both hunt and scavenge for suitable food. They forage for a variety of living, coastal invertebrates and for human garbage. They also often steal food from other predators, especially the brown pelican. Adult laughing gulls have few predators, but they are likely taken by tiger … Read more

Southern rockhopper penguins are small-bodied penguins, reaching heights of about two feet (0.6 m) and weights of only a few pounds. Southern rockhopper penguins have white fronts and black heads and hoods. Their beaks are bright orange, and their eyebrows are bright yellow. At the outer edge of the eyebrows, long yellow feathers extend off … Read more

As in all seabirds, southern giant petrels nest on land and feed at sea. They nest in groups, but in most places, they do not form the extremely dense colonies characteristic of several other species of seabird. This species prefers to nest on the ground rather than in trees or other vegetation and generally does not successfully … Read more

As in all seabirds, magnificent frigatebirds nest on land, but they spend almost all of their time in flight, searching for food. This species prefers to nest off of the ground, in mangrove forests and other trees or bushes, but they will nest on the ground in places where vegetation is sparse. During courtship, the male magnificent frigatebird … Read more

As in all seabirds, Laysan albatrosses nest on land. Essentially all individuals of this species nest in large colonies of thousands of breeding pairs in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands, though previously unknown colonies have recently been observed on small islands off the coasts of Mexico and Japan. These birds form strong pair bonds and generally mate for … Read more

Like all terns, the Arctic tern gets most of its food from marine sources. They primarily eat small, schooling fishes and pelagic invertebrates, but they are known to take some terrestrial invertebrates and even berries near their nesting sites, when breeding. Arctic terns are divers and feed by plunging into surface waters at high speeds and chasing … Read more

Like all boobies, the red-footed booby gets all of its food from marine sources. This species’ preferred prey includes flyingfishes and squids. These prey species thrive in the open ocean and therefore red-footed boobies spend much of their time at sea. Red-footed boobies feed by diving into surface waters at high speeds and chasing their prey underwater. Flyingfishes are also sometimes … Read more

Emperor penguins spend all year in Antarctica, while king penguins live in sub-antarctic island groups and in southern South America. The king penguin is the largest penguin outside of Antarctica. King penguins are foraging predators that feed primarily on fishes (but occasionally take squids) in shallow water near their nesting sites. Many predatory seabirds are known to … Read more