What is the largest seabird in the world?

Seabirds are birds that can adapt to the marine climate. Seabirds in the world also have certain classifications. The following is the largest seabird in the world that I sorted out for you. I hope you like them.

The largest seabird in the world: albatross

Albatrosses belong to 2 1 species of Albatrosses ***4 genera. They are distributed in about 25? To the Liu Bing Islands in the southern hemisphere, and use the islands in this area for breeding.

Protection state

At present, the albatross on the island and the albatross in New Zealand are listed as extremely endangered species, and there are two other endangered species, 13 vulnerable species.

Morphological characteristics of albatross

The length ranges from 68-93cm of Mediterranean type to110-135cm of Diomedea type; The wingspan ranges from 178-256 cm to 250-350 cm (also referring to the above two genera). White, wing tip dark; The female bird is white with dark eyebrows, back, wings and tail. Most of them build a pit lined with feathers and grass; Tropical species nest less, while Canadian albatrosses don't. A nest of white single eggs. The incubation period is 65-79 days. Diet: squid, fish, crustaceans, fishing boat waste.

Subspecies distribution

Species: black-footed albatross (Phoebastria nigripes), black-backed albatross (P. immutabilis), (P. irrorata), short-tailed albatross (P. albatrus), gray-backed albatross (Phoebetria palpebrata), black-nosed albatross (P. fusca) and yellow-nosed albatross.

Short-tailed albatross

Short-tailed albatross (scientific name: albatross; English name: short-tailed albatross) alias Haiyan. It is 94-95cm long, white in body, yellow in head and neck, dark brown in primary flight feathers and tail tip, pink in mouth and dark in feet. In behavior, the short-tailed albatross does not approach ships, while the black-footed albatross likes to approach and follow ships. The short-tailed albatross lives at sea all the year round, and lives on islands or rock walls during the breeding period. It is a resident bird and does not migrate. It mainly feeds on small mollusks, fish and other marine invertebrates on the surface of seawater, and generally feeds on the water surface. In Asia, it is distributed in the North Pacific and the West Pacific, and in China, it is distributed in the Diaoyutai Islands. The breeding period is10-1February. They often get together to build nests and lay 1 egg at a time. The incubation period and brooding period are longer. Young birds have the special ability of spraying gastric juice to defend against natural enemies, and their life span can reach 40-60 years old. Due to human utilization, accidental fishing and volcanic eruption, its population is scarce, and it is estimated that it will not exceed 3000 in 2009. It is a first-class protected animal in China and is listed in the Red List of Endangered Species of IUCN.

Black-footed albatros (scientific name: Diomedea nigripes) is similar to short-tailed albatross, with a body length of 760 ~ 790 mm, a weight of about 1200 g, and white drooping feathers on its head. It is gray around the mouth, under the eyes and throat; The rest of the body is mostly dark brown; The waist, tail and feathers are white with black spots; There are also black spots on the tertiary feathers under the tail; The abdomen is pure white Young birds are like adults, but the tail and feathers under it are not white. The difference with short-tailed albatross chicks is that their mouths and feet are dark. Distributed in the North Pacific. Breed in Levade, Marshall Islands, Johnston Islands and Ogasawara Islands. The population is very sparse. In the Taiwan Province Strait all the year round. Spring and winter are in Nanhai, Zhejiang, Fujian and Taiwan Province provinces of China. Group reproduction. Always follow the boat to find food waste. Often live in groups on the island. The nest is in a rock cave on the island, and it is nested in a shallow basin. Each egg lays 1 white egg, and the incubation period is about 40 days. Feed on fish, mollusks, etc. This species has been listed in the List of Terrestrial Wild Animals under National Key Protection or with Important Economic and Scientific Research Value issued by the State Forestry Administration of China in August, 2000 1.

Wandering albatross

Wandering Albatross has a wingspan of 3.5 meters, lives in the Southern Ocean, with an average life span of 22.8 years, and spends nine-tenths of his life at sea. Wandering albatrosses reach adulthood at the age of 6-7, and females begin to lay eggs. After the young birds are full of feathers, they begin to drift at sea all their lives. Albatrosses mainly live in the southern hemisphere. At 40 degrees south latitude, there are 27 days in a month when the west wind blows huge waves, making it an ideal paradise for albatrosses. It often uses the west wind to make long-distance flights from west to east, flying 10 km every month. Rest at sea when there is no wind and float at night. Wandering albatrosses can fly to their birthplace accurately after 4 years old and start looking for a spouse. Will it take a year or two to identify this door? Marriage. " At the age of six or seven, adult stray albatross females began to lay eggs. When the chicks are plump, they will gradually become independent and begin to drift at sea. The appearance and shape of the wandering albatross are very similar to those of the royal albatross, which is extremely difficult to distinguish in the distance. It haunts a wide range, and almost the whole Antarctic ocean has its traces, hence its name. Its breeding habits and food are similar to those of the royal albatross, but the breeding season is late, starting at the end of 65438+ 10, and it will feed with the ship. The total number is about 80,000. The debate about how many kinds of albatrosses there are has never stopped. Some scholars think there are fourteen species, while others think there are twenty-four species, but it is certain that there are only three species of albatrosses in the North Pacific. Albatross is the most famous seabird in the Southern Ocean, and the wandering albatross is one of the largest birds in the world (in addition, the largest birds include pelicans, African vultures and South American vultures). 40 degrees south latitude is a famous westerly belt, with 27 violent westerly winds blowing every month.

Distribution range of albatrosses

The distribution of albatrosses is very obvious, which is related to the wind influence of the ocean belt between Antarctica and the southern tip of South America, Africa and Australia. 45-70 south latitude? The largest number of individuals and species are concentrated, but they also breed in temperate waters in the southern hemisphere, and a few species are distributed in the North Pacific. Galapagos Islands and Galapagos Islands outside Ecuador breed at the equator, where the climate is influenced by Humboldt current. The short-tailed albatross (mainly in islands near Japan and Taiwan Province Province), the black-footed albatross in the northwest Pacific and the black-backed albatross in the Hawaiian Islands all breed in the North Pacific. Today, no albatrosses breed in the North Atlantic? Although it existed in the Pleistocene from 1.8 million years ago to 1 10,000 years ago, it is also known that a few albatrosses that strayed into the North Atlantic survived for decades. The reason why albatrosses have no population in the North Atlantic today is probably that there was no post-Pleistocene diffusion there. About 25 degrees south latitude? Go to the ice floes in the southern hemisphere and use the islands in this area for breeding (there are 17 species); North Pacific (3 species), Galapagos Islands and off Peru (1 species). The habitat is the ocean. Albatross is a general term for 14 species of large seabirds. They behaved meekly on the shore.

Many albatrosses are also commonly known as? Stupid seagull? Or? Stupid bird? . Albatross is one of the best gliding birds. In windy climate, it can stay in the air for several hours without flapping its extremely long and narrow wings. They need to take off against the wind, and sometimes they have to run or take off from the edge of a cliff. When there is no wind, it is difficult to lift its heavy body and float on the water. Like other birds, they can drink sea water. They usually feed on squid, and often follow the ship to eat leftovers. Albatrosses only flock to islands far from the mainland when they breed. There, groups or couples engage in mating behaviors, including spreading their wings and pecking performances, accompanied by loud calls. Each nest lays a big white egg, which is placed on the ground or in a simple nest. Parents take turns incubating eggs. Young chicks grow slowly, especially large species; It takes 3- 10 months for chicks to grow feathers, then spend 5- 10 years at sea, and change their feathers several times before pairing on land. Albatross has a long life span and is one of the only birds that can live to die of old age. Sailors were once in awe of them and thought that killing albatrosses would bring bad luck.

Name source

The albatross spread its wings and flew past. Some sailors regard the albatross as the reappearance of their unfortunate companions who died in the sea, so they are convinced that killing an albatross will bring disaster. Samuel? Taylor? Coleridge's famous poem "Poetic Rhyme of Ancient Sailors" accurately tells how disaster befell a ship after an albatross was shot. However, even so, many sailors in the19th century are still keen on preying on this bird to enrich the monotonous diet during the long voyage, and fold their feet into tobacco bags and put the bones of their wings into their pipes. Albatross? Albatross? This word comes from Portuguese? Alcatraz? The word developed and was originally used to refer to any large seabird; Obviously, this Portuguese word comes from Arabic? Al kardos. , refers to the pelican. The albatross differs from other birds (Albatrosses) in that its tubular outer nostrils are located on both sides of the base of the beak, rather than converging on the top of the base of the beak. Albatrosses are divided into 4 genera:? Diomedea? Genus, that is? Big albatross? , including 6 species, with an average wingspan of 3 meters; ? Mediterranean style? Genus, there are 9 smaller species, usually called? Mollymauks？ (From Dutch? Molemok? , originally referring to stinky gulls); ? Phoebastria？ Genus, including 4 species in North Pacific and Tropical Pacific; Consists of a dark albatross and a gray-backed albatross? Fibrilla? A genus with relatively long wings. Through molecular analysis, the recognized species of albatrosses increased from 14 to 2 1.

Life habits of albatrosses

The law of life belongs to night activities. Good at flying, swimming and walking on land. Rest: On the sea, in the land hiding places such as the shore and islands during the breeding season. Carnivorous. Feed on fish, mollusks, etc. They can't catch prey when flying in the air, nor can they dive underwater to hunt. Their foraging activities are all carried out on water. Highly alert, lonely and quiet, alone or in pairs. The breeding period is10-65438+February. It is very simple to build a nest on the rocks of the coast and islands, mainly by using wetlands on the ground, grass, moss and soil. Each brood lays eggs 1 grain, and the incubation period is 75-82 days. Growing chicks need to be carefully raised by their parents, who feed them with ruminant food. When the baby bird is born, its whole body is covered with faint fluff, and when the fluff is taken off, it becomes a curly baby bird. When the chicks began to turn white, the parents flew away, leaving only the chicks to consume the fat stored in their bodies for the winter. After about 270 days, young birds can learn to fly independently and take off in the wind, and live at sea. Sexual maturity takes about 9- 12 years. The short-tailed albatross can live to be 40-60 years old. They can fly at sea for five years and then return to the island where they were born. Pairing is lifelong, usually starting at the age of 6. Return to the same place at the end of 10 every year and build a nest with sand, shrub branches and volcanic rocks. One pair lays only one egg, and parents take turns to hatch the eggs, which takes about 65 days to hatch. At the end of May and the beginning of June, the bird almost grew up, and the parents abandoned the nest and the bird. Birds will soon practice flying successfully by themselves. The short-tailed albatross is a seabird in the North Pacific Ocean, which once bred in Penghu Islands. Between 1887 and 1932, because their white feathers were over-hunted, they were once reduced to 50. After protection began in 1960s, it recovered to about 500- 1000, of which about 180 was an adult. At that time, all short-tailed albatrosses were only on a remote volcanic island in Japan. This island is an active volcano, which once erupted in 1902, killing all local residents and burying many albatross nests on the island under magma. Later, Japanese animal protection scientists planted grass for albatrosses on the island and began to plan how to help them move to other areas. 1979, a group of short-tailed albatrosses were found on the Diaoyu Islands in China. 1988 determine where they breed. 199 1 year, there are 75 animals on the island, including adult animals 15. In the1940s, a pair of young short-tailed albatrosses once appeared in the central islands of the United States, and were not discovered until 1960. It was once found that a couple laid an egg in Nakajima, but no birds hatched. In the1980s, short-tailed albatrosses began to appear in California.

Population status of albatross

Two species of albatrosses, the Albatross of Protected Island and the Albatross of New Zealand, are listed as extremely endangered species, and there are two other endangered species, 13 vulnerable species.

The breeding ground of environmental albatross has been well protected for a long time because it is on an isolated island and has no natural enemies. But since it was discovered by sailors, it has suffered great losses: eggs were taken away and adult birds were killed. Feathers have been plundered because they are used to make human clothes and bedding. The short-tailed albatross was almost extinct because humans collected their feathers: hundreds of thousands of birds were killed, and the breeding behavior of species stopped completely in the late 1940s and early 1950s. This species survived because the immature birds were not in the breeding group at that time, but wandering in the sea, which was relatively safe. Later, they came back according to the established route, like this? Save? The whole game. Since 1954 resumed breeding, the number of short-tailed albatrosses in Nanniao Island, Japan has gradually increased, and the size of one of the main breeding groups has reached about 200 pairs. The black-backed albatross is seriously threatened because midway in the north-central Pacific Ocean has become an American air base. This bird nests around military bases and airport runways, and many of them collide with antennas and planes and die. Albatrosses face more hidden dangers at sea. In addition to the harm caused by oil spill and chemical pollutants, the more imminent threat comes from human fishing activities. Although gill nets are now banned from being used on the high seas, the so-called? Rope extension method? It is widely used to catch fish at the bottom of the sea, such as Chilean perch, and fish in middle waters, such as tuna. Only one longline for tuna fishing is 100 km long. After the extension line is put in place, the erbium hook will spread out from the bow of the fishing boat. For this temptation, albatrosses can hardly resist. They swallowed the bait, took the bait, were dragged into the water by the longline, and were finally pulled up by fishermen with other prey a few hours later. As many as 44,000 albatrosses are killed every year, which leads to the decrease of some species in the Southern Ocean. Some practical measures can effectively reduce this threat, such as laying ropes at night. At the same time, international organizations are actively persuading relevant countries and fishing fleets to adopt fishing methods that are harmless to albatrosses. However, with the further development of fishing fleets around the world in the southern waters, a new threat has emerged, that is, humans may directly compete with albatrosses and other animals for marine biological resources such as krill and squid, which will inevitably affect their survival.

Tragedy midway is located in the Pacific Ocean? Heart? The nearest mainland is also about 32 19 km. This small island, which played an important role in World War II but few people cared about it, finally belonged to the Albatross. Every July and August, thousands of adult albatrosses gather over Midway Island, and the white figure covers most of the blue sky. Pairs of albatrosses come back from the distant ocean for food, glide to the hungry albatrosses, ruminate on digested or semi-digested food and feed it to their children. They are the largest birds in the world and have the widest wings of any living bird? In flight, their wingspan can reach 3.5 meters. For hundreds of years, they shared this small area with turtles and pelicans, but did they? Paradise on earth? A famous island. But are these carefree? Island owner? But it is under the greatest threat ever. In September 2009, when Chris, a 46-year-old photographer and artist from Seattle, USA? When Jordan first set foot on Midway Island, he was stunned by what he saw: albatross bodies rotting in the scorching sun were everywhere on the ground, surrounded by pieces of plastic garbage. After cutting open the bodies of young albatrosses, Jordan found that the bellies of these young birds were full of undivided colored plastic garbage: lighters, bottle caps, combs, toothbrush handles and plastic fragments of various shapes. Are these plastics albatrosses? Parents? Fly thousands of miles to bring back the children? Food? . Thousands of young birds died tragically before they could wait for their first flight to the sea as adults. Jordan saw an albatross cub born a few months ago. Its abdomen contained seven or eight kinds of plastic garbage, and one third of its stomach was plastic. Swallowing plastic products prevents them from eating other foods, and sometimes plastic fragments even cut their esophagus, leading to suffocation, hunger and dehydration. They can instinctively find squid, fish and shrimp, but as the whole Pacific Ocean is increasingly polluted by plastic, seabirds can easily mistake plastic garbage for food, making it a deadly poison that causes the death of albatross larvae.

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