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The
Arctic Tern
The
Arctic Tern is medium-sized bird approximately 33–36 cm (13–15 in)
from the tip of its beak to the tip of its tail. The wingspan is
76–85 cm.[8] The weight is 86–127 g (3.0–4.5 oz). The beak is dark
red, as are the short legs and webbed feet. Like most terns, the
Arctic Tern has high aspect ratio wings and a tail with a deep fork.[8]
The adult plumage is grey above, with a black nape and crown and
white cheeks. The upperwings are pale grey, with the area near the
wingtip being translucent. The tail is white, and the underparts
pale grey. Both sexes are similar in appearance. The winter plumage
is similar, but the crown is whiter and the bills are darker Juveniles
differ from adults in their black bill and legs, "scaly" appearing
wings, and mantle with dark feather tips, dark carpal wing bar,
and short tail streamers. During their first summer, juveniles also
have a whiter forecrown.
The
Black Guillemot
The
Black Guillemot is medium-sized at 32-38 cm in length, and with
a 49-58 cm wingspan. Adult birds have black bodies with a white
wing patch, a thin dark bill and red legs and feet. They show white
wing linings in flight. In winter, the upperparts are pale grey
and the underparts are white. The wings remain black with the large
white patch on the inner wing.
Herring
Gull
The Herring gull is white with a pale grey back and wings. Their wings are black tipped while they possess a powerful yellow with red spots bill, yellow eyes and can be seen to have pink feet. In winter, the birds head has brownish streaks. Juvenile herring gulls are speckled brown, with black terminal tail-band, gradually attaining adult plumage in the fourth year. They have a very vocal call with a repeated 'kyow'. Their alarm call on their breeding ground resembles a 'ga- ga- ga' sound.
The
Razorbill
The Razorbill, Alca torda, is a large auk, 38-43 cm in length, with a 60-69 cm wingspan. It is the only living member of the genus Alca.
Adult birds are black on their upperparts and white on the breast and belly. The thick black bill has a blunt end. The tail is pointed and longer than that of a Murre. In winter, the black face becomes white
The
Fulmar
Gull- Like but stockier with thicker head and neck. Fulmars have greyish upper parts and a white head and body, their 'tuber nose' bill and the straightness of the wings in flight make identification easy. Common around all coasts with nesting ledges. In winter the Fulmars disperse over the sea often following fishing boats fro discarded fish scraps. Intruders to the nest are attacked with a vile-smelling oil which the fulmers spit at them. The birds may also spend hours gliding past a possible nesting ledge trying to land on it, only to be repelled by other birds.
The
Manx Shearwater
This
bird is 30-38 cm long, with a 76-89 cm wingspan. It has the typically
"shearing" flight of the genus, dipping from side to side on stiff
wings with few wingbeats, the wingtips almost touching the water.
This bird looks like a flying cross, with its wing held at right
angles to the body, and it changes from black to white as the black
upperparts and white undersides are alternately exposed as it travels
low over the sea. This is a gregarious species, which can been seen
in large numbers from boats or headlands, especially on passage
in autumn. It is silent at sea, but at night the breeding colonies
are alive with raucous cackling calls. The Manx Shearwater feeds
on small fish (particularly herring, sprat and sardines), crustaceans,
cephalopods and surface offal. The bird forages individually or
in small flocks, and it makes use of feeding marine mammals and
schools of predatory fish, which push prey species up to the surface.
It does not follow boats.
The
Cormorant
Cormorants and shags are medium-to-large seabirds. They range in size from the Pygmy Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pygmaeus), at as little as 45 cm (18 in) and 340 g (12 oz), to the Flightless Cormorant (Phalacrocorax harrisi), at a maximum size 100 cm (40 in) and 5 kg (11 lb). The recently-extinct Spectacled Cormorant (Phalacrocorax perspicillatus) was rather larger, at an average size of 6.3 kg (14 lb). The majority, including nearly all Northern Hemisphere species, have mainly dark plumage, but some Southern Hemisphere species are black and white, and a few (e.g. the Spotted Shag of New Zealand) are quite colourful. Many species have areas of coloured skin on the face (the lores and the gular skin) which can be bright blue, orange, red or yellow, typically becoming more brightly coloured in the breeding season. The bill is long, thin, and sharply hooked. Their feet have webbing between all four toes, as in their relatives.
The
Guillemot
Guillemot
is the common name for several species of seabird in the auk family,
comprising two genera: Uria and Cepphus. It is a black and white
sea bird with a narrow pointed bill. Often has white eye-ring and
narrow stripe behind its eye. In winter, checks, chin and neck are
white and has a dark line behind its eye. Guillemots breeding on
inaccessible cliffs on rocket coasts and islands with some colonies
containing thousands of birds. In winter, most of them go far out
to sea, occasionally inshore in bad weather. Guillemots dive for
fish from the surface, they also swim well under water using their
wings. They often sit upright on the nesting ledges.
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