Seabirds

Albatross spends a significant portion of their life on the open ocean.

They rarely venture close to land except to breed.

They may be found hundreds or thousands of miles offshore.

They are powerful fliers who can remain aloft for hours while gliding or soaring.

They have the longest wingspan of any bird in the world i.e. 8-12 feet from wingtip to wingtip and weight around 13 to 28 pounds.

Albatross holds the record for the fastest level flight of any bird i.e. 79 miles per hour.

They are among the largest flying  birds in the world.

They can travel long distances, sometimes up to 10,000 miles in a single journey.

There are 22 albatross species in the world and they all comes under the Diomedeidae family.

1. There are many auk species such as murres, puffins and guillemots.

2. They all have compact bodies which are well adapted to northern seas and colder waters.

3. They have an upright posture on land and they can be clumsy when walking.

4. Most of them have black and white plumage and many have colorful bills or distinct markings.

5. They have wingspan of 6 to 16 inches and weight 3 ounces to 2.2 pounds.

6. All auks are part of the Alcidae bird family.

1. They are named booby for their silly facial expressions and history of gullible behavior around sailors.

2. They have bright bills and feet, including the celebrated blue-footed booby.

3. They are larger and heavy but excellent fliers and divers.

4. Boobies prefer to eat anchovies, mackerel, sardines and squid.

5. They have wingspan of 5 - 6 feet and weight 2 to 4 pounds.

6. Seven booby species are in the Sulidae family.

1. They are also known as pirate birds or man-of-war birds.

2. They are stately fliers with long, hooked bills, sharpy pointed wings, and boldly forked tails.

3. They have wingspan of 7-8 feet and weight 2 to 4 pounds.

4. They have 5 species and belong to the Fregatidae family.

1. Fulmars are a type of petrel that look very similar to gulls.

2. They are opportunistic feeders, foraging widely, including scavenging in the trash or eating carrion.

3. They have long tubular noses with prominent bill structures for saltwater filtration.

4. They have wingspan of 3 foot and weight 1 to 2 pounds.

5. There are only two fulmar species in the Procellariidae family: the northern and the southern fulmar.

1. Gannets are large seabirds with chunky builds.

2. They are strong fliers and powerful dive fishers.

3. They are closely related to boobies.

4. There are only 3 species of gannet - northern gannet, cape gannet, and Australasian gannet.

5. They have wingspan of 6 foot and weight 5 to 7 pounds.

6. They belong to the Sulidae family.

1. Murre is a type of auk that resembles penguins.

2. They can swim underwater to pursue fish.

3. There are only two species of murre - the common murre and the thick-billed  murre - both found in northern oceans.

4. They have wingspan of 24-29 inches and weight 1.7 to 2.8 pounds.

5. They belong to Alcidae bird family.

1. Penguins are flightless birds of the southern oceans.

2. They are stunning swimmers and have specialized flippers rather than feathered wings.

3. Gentoo Penguins are the fastest of all penguin species.

4. Gentoo Penguins can swim at speed of up to 36km/h.

5. The oldest penguin fossils are 62 million years old.

6. They have height of 15 inches to 3.5 feet and weight 2 to 88 pounds.

7. They belong to Spheniscidae  family.

1. Petrels are small seabirds distinguished by their elongated, tubular nostrils and low, wave-skimming flight.

2. They often stay so close to the water that they have the appearance of walking on its surface.

3. Petrels stay at sea most of their lives, return to land only to breed.

4. They have wingspan of 5 to 7 foot and weight 6 to 11 pounds.

5. They belong to the Procellariidae family.

1. Puffins are large auks with broad, colorful bills and whimsical expressions.

2. They are often called sea clowns or sea parrots.

3. They are powerful swimmers, their wingbeats are rapid and their path is direct while in flight.

4. There are only 3 puffin species - horned, Atlantic and tufted.

5. They have wingspan of 20 to 25 inch and weight 13 ounces to 1.7 pounds.

6. They belong to the Alcidae family.

1. Shearwaters are small petrels with long wings specializing in low, gliding flight.

2. Their wingtips may brush the waves and "shear the water" as they fly, giving these birds their familiar name.

3. There are more than 35 shearwater species with a wide variety of sizes.

4. They have wingspan of 24 to 30 inches and weight 1.5 to 2.2 pounds.

5. They belong to the Procellariidae family.

1. Tropicbirds have primarily white plumage and are easily identified by their very long streaming tail feathers

2. They have short legs and are shallow plunge divers when they hunt.

3. There are only three species of tropicbird - the red-billed tropicbird, the white-tailed tropicbird and the red-tailed tropicbird.

4. They have wingspan of 37 to 44 inches and weight 10 to 25 ounces.

5. They belong to Phaethontidae family.

1. Gulls are commonly called seagulls.

2. There are 54 gull species.

3. They are closely related to terns and distantly related to auks.

4. Gulls are typically medium to large birds that are intelligent, using loud wailing or squawking calls to communicate.

5. Most gull species are migratory, with birds moving to warmer habitats during the winter.

6. They have wingspan of 24 to 65 inches and weight 4 ounces to 4 pounds.

7. They belong to the Laridae family.

1. Terns are all slender, lightly built birds.

2. The Arctic tern migrates further than any other bird on the planet.

3. Terns travel from pole to pole, breed on the shores of the Arctic Ocean in the northern summer and heading to the Southern Hemisphere for the southern summer.

4. North American Arctic terns fly about 25,000 miles each year round trip.

5. They have wingspan of 14-15 inches and weight 13.8 to 15.2 ounces.

6. They belong to the Sternidae family.