This module covers the following orders: PROCELLARIIFORMES — tube nose swimmers SPHENISCIFORMES — penguins GAVIIFORMES — Loons PODICIPEDIFORMES — grebes PHOENICOPTERIFORMES — Flamingoes

TUBE-NOSED SWIMMERS Giant Fulmar, Patagonia

Range: worldwide [esp southern] oceans Morphology/ecology: highly pelagic long-winged seabirds that only come to land to nest; excellent soarers and large species like albatross can fly enormous distances; excellent sense of smell to find prey (squid, fish, crustaceans); all lay a single egg and have extremely long incubation and nestling periods Behavior: monogamous with biparental care, chicks fed a rich stomach oil regurgitated by the parent (think of it as milk derived from seafood!); they also squirt it at predators in self defense Taxonomic notes: diving petrels (Family pelecanoididae) show remarkable convergence on auks (puffins and relatives) and similarly swim underwater with their wings to catch fish. Important families: (we may see these on the seabird trip) *Diomedeidae: albatross (largest) *Procellariidae: shearwaters (medium sized) *Hydobatidae: storm petrels (tiny) *ORDER PROCELLARIIFORMES — Tube-nosed Swimmers (albatrosses, shearwaters, storm petrels and diving petrels) — 4 families; 115 species

Leach’s Storm Petrel, B.C. Note “tube nose”

Northern Fulmars feeding at upwelling, arctic Canada

Albatross Shearwater Peter LaTourrette

PENGUINS Magellanic Penguins, Patagonia

Range: Southern Hemisphere Morphology/ecology: flightless diving seabirds that use paddle-like wings for swimming; feet palmate; eat fish and crustaceans (krill) Behavior: biparental care; most lay single egg; colonial nesters; male emperor penguins incubate eggs on feet on ice sheets in middle of Antarctic winter! Other notes: this group may be particularly threatened by global warming Taxonomic notes: Smallest living penguin (Little blue penguin) has covered nares like birds in next order (Procellariiformes); thought that penguins and procellariformes derived from a common seabird ancestor. ORDER SPHENISCIFORMES — Penguins — 1 family; 17 species

Humboldt Penguins, Chile

Loons Pacific Loon, Canadian arctic

Range: Holarctic Morphology/ecology: excellent divers (foot propelled) with anisodactyl, palmate feet, legs so far back on body (caudally) that these birds cannot take off from land Behavior: monogamous; biparental care; all lay two eggs; Common Loon has spectacular, haunting yodel Important family: Gavidae (loons) *ORDER GAVIIFORMES — Loons — 1 family; 5 species

Family Gavidae: Loons Common Loon, Ontario

Red-throated Loon nest arctic Canada

Common Loon swimming underwater

GREBES White-tufted Grebe Argentina

Range: worldwide Morphology/ecology: Long necked divers with anisodactyl, lobate feet; eat fish and invertebrates Behavior: monogamous & biparental; spectacular synchronized courtship, build floating nests on lakes and marshes and cover eggs while absent; carry chicks on back; often nest in loose colonies Other notes: eat feathers which lines stomach; function unclear, may hold fishbones while they digest *ORDER PODICIPEDIFORMES — Grebes—1 family; 21 species

Eared Grebe, B.C.

Greater Flamingos, Mexico FLAMINGOS

Range: pantropical saline lakes and lagoons Morphology/ecology: extremely long neck and legs; feet palmate; bill thick, bent downwards, & lamellate; feed with head upside down and pump water through sieve-like lamellae to filter microscopic crustaceans Behavior: colonial nesters; monogamous; biparental care Other notes: pink color is due to diet and captive birds turn white if not fed enough shrimp-like food with carotenoid pigments. Taxonomic notes: Recent molecular evidence places the flamingo as a sister taxa to the grebes (Podicepediformes) ORDER PHOENICOPTERIFORMES — Flamingoes — 1 family; 5 species

Lesser Flamingos, Kenya Family Phoenicopteridae: flamingos

Greater Flamingo, Mexico