PROCELLARIIFORMES of Africa
Procellariiformes is an order of seabirds that comprises albatrosses, shearwaters, and various type of petrels. Wings are long and narrow; feet are webbed, and the hind toe is undeveloped or non-existent. Plumage is predominantly black, white and gray. They are almost exclusively pelagic (feeding in the open ocean). They distributed across the world's oceans, with the highest diversity being around New Zealand. Procellariiformes mostly nesting on remote predator-free islands. Only a single egg is laid per nesting attempt. The various species within the order have a variety of migration strategies. Many species undertake regular trans-equatorial migrations. However, no albatrosses cross the migrate across the equator because they rely on wind assisted flight.
The order has a few unifying characteristics, starting with their tubular nasal passages enclosed in one or two tubes on their straight, deeply grooved bills with hooked tips. These passages are used for smelling which helps to locate patchily distributed prey at sea and may also help locate their nests within nesting colonies. Also, they have a stomach oil stored that can be used as a food source during their long flights and also as a defense mechanism. All birds have an enlarged nasal gland at the base of the bill, above their eyes. This gland is inactive in species that don't require it; however the Procellariiformes do require its use due to their drinking of ocean water. It removes salt that forms a 5% saline solution that drips out of their nose or is forcibly ejected in some petrels. [abstracted from Wikipedia]
The order has a few unifying characteristics, starting with their tubular nasal passages enclosed in one or two tubes on their straight, deeply grooved bills with hooked tips. These passages are used for smelling which helps to locate patchily distributed prey at sea and may also help locate their nests within nesting colonies. Also, they have a stomach oil stored that can be used as a food source during their long flights and also as a defense mechanism. All birds have an enlarged nasal gland at the base of the bill, above their eyes. This gland is inactive in species that don't require it; however the Procellariiformes do require its use due to their drinking of ocean water. It removes salt that forms a 5% saline solution that drips out of their nose or is forcibly ejected in some petrels. [abstracted from Wikipedia]
Albatross
Order Procellariiformes Family Diomedeidae
Albatrosses are among the largest of flying birds . They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacific, but are absent from the North Atlantic. They feed on squid, fish and krill by either scavenging, surface seizing or diving. Albatrosses are colonial, nesting for the most part on remote oceanic islands. The nasal tubes of all albatrosses are along the sides of the bill, unlike the rest of the Procellariiformes where the tubes run along the top of the bill. The legs are strong for Procellariiformes, in fact, almost uniquely amongst the order in that they are able to walk well on land. The adult plumage of most of the albatrosses is usually some variation of dark upper-wing and back, white undersides, often compared to that of a gull.[13] Albatrosses take several years to get their full adult breeding plumage.
Albatrosses travel huge distances with two techniques used by many long-winged seabirds, dynamic soaring and slope soaring. Dynamic soaring involves repeatedly rising into wind and descending downwind. Slope soaring uses the rising air on the windward side of large waves. They are aided in soaring by a shoulder-lock, a sheet of tendon that locks the wing when fully extended, allowing the wing to be kept outstretched without any muscle expenditure. Albatrosses in calm seas are forced to rest on the ocean's surface until the wind picks up again. Taking off is one of the few times albatrosses use flapping in order to fly, and is the most energetically demanding part of a journey. When taking off, albatrosses need to run to allow enough air to move under the wing to provide lift [abstracted from Wikipedia]
Genus Diomedea
Albatross, Southern Royal Diomedea epomophora Found: Found: southern oceans including the coasts of South America, New Zealand
Photographed by: 1) Mark Jobling 2) Charlie Westerinen in the Drake's Passage
Albatross, Wandering Diomedea exulans Found: Found: Africa, Australasia, The Southern Ocean
Photographed by: 1) Dimitri off the west coast of KerguelenDamasceno 2) Mark Jobling
3) Charlie Westerinen in the Drake's Passage 4) David Cook - Continental shelf, off Eden, NSW, Australia
Genus Thalassarche
The albatrosses in this genus are medium sized and are called Mollymarks.
Albatross, Black-browed Thalassarche melanophrys Found: South America, Asia, Africa, Australasia, Antarctic
Photographed by: 1, 2) David Cook - Continental shelf, off Eden, NSW, Australia
3, 4) Charlie Westerinen on the Drakes Passage north of Antarctica
Albatross, Gray-headed aka Grey-headed Albatross Thalassarche chrysostoma Found: South Africa, Australasia, Chile
Photographed by: 1) Ben Tullis 2, 3) Charlie Westerinen in the Drakes Passage
1) Chick
Albatross, Salvin's Thalassarche salvini Found: Southern Oceans including around New Zealand
Photographed by Arthur Chapman
Albatross, Yellow-nosed Thalassarche chlororhynchos Found: southern Atlantic and Pacific Oceans
The Yellow-nosed Albatross is often split into two species: the Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross (Thalassarche
chlororhynchos) and the Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross (Thalassarche carteri)..
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