1. Tube-nosed pelagic seabirds
Feathers & Molt
Order of the Day
Procellariiformes
4 families, 112 species
Tube-nosed pelagic seabirds
All lay a single egg
Waved Albatross pair

3. Diomedeidae – Albatrosses
24 species
Short-tailed Albatross

4. Waved Albatross

5. Procellariidae Shearwaters, petrels & fulmars All oceans 76 species
Largest petrel, the Giant Petrel, is as big as an albatross
Large species nest in the open
Small species in “burrows”

6. Southern Giant Petrel

8. Giant Petrel chick – gack!

9. Antarctic Petrel with chick
Antarctic Fulmar with chick

10. Snow Petrel
Boat-billed Prion

11. Wilson’s Storm Petrel – Hydrobatidae (21 species)

13. DIVING-PETRELS Pelecanoididae
4 species

14. South Georgia Diving Petrel

15. Human predation
Drift-net fishing
Long-line fishing
Pollution
Introduced predators
Habitat degradation

16. Items regurgitated by Laysan Albatross on Midway Island
Wandering Albatross caught in tuna long-line, eastern Australia

17. Summary Pelagic seabirds of global distribution
Tubular nostrils & keen sense of smell
Most species feed on sea surface
All species lay a single egg
Both parents & young “gack” their enemies
Penguins & “petrels” are close relatives

19. Gill is encyclopedic!

20. Six functions of feathers
Flight
Insulation
Camouflage
Sexual display
Buoyancy
Nest building material

21. Mature feathers are: Dead Composed of beta keratin
Weigh 2-3 x more than the skeleton
Replaced at least once per year

23. Contour or
vane feather

28. Aquatic species preen up to 17 times a day

29. Uropygial (preen) gland

30. Preen gland Fatty acids, fats & waxes
Waterproofs and protects beaks, feathers, claws and scales
7-dehydrocholesterol > vitamin D

31. Six feather types Vane or contour Down Semiplume Filoplume Bristle
Powder down

34. Ground Dove Filoplume

38. Powder down Species that lack preen glands
Ratites, herons, parrots, pigeons, and woodpeckers among others
Scattered diffusely throughout plumage in hawks and parrots, as patches in herons

40. Feather distribution

41. Remiges (singular Remex) Wing flight feathers
9 some passerines
11 many nonpasserines
12 grebes
Hummers 6, albatrosses 40

42. Feather tracts -- pterylae

43. Except penguins, ratites, screamers & colies

45. Bigger birds have more feathers
Species No. feathers
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Song Sparrow 2,000
Barred Owl 9,206
Whistling Swan ,216

46. Molt Speed, pattern & number/year variable
Typically adults replace all or most of their feathers once/yr, usually immediately after breeding
Most molt & breed at different times
Thyroid involved in molt, perhaps gonads

48. Molt Sequences Basic = winter Alternate = nuptial
(camouflage) (the alter)

49. Nuptial or
Alternate plumage
Winter or
Basic plumage

50. Eclipse Plumage
Northern Shoveler

51. Snow Bunting
Breeding plumage of summer males is not a separate plumage but just the worn winter plumage. Typical of many passerines.
Breeding plumage of summer males is not a separate plumage but just the worn winter plumage. Typical of many passerines.

53. Summer Tanager, female

54. Summer Tanager, 1st year male

55. Summer Tanager, 2nd year male

56. Summer Tanager, adult male

57. Little Gull

58. Centrifugal molt
Thyroid controls molt

59. Prebasic molt duration decreases 1 hr per mile northward (2
Prebasic molt duration decreases 1 hr per mile northward (2.6 days per degree Lat.)
35ºN (Santa Barbara) 83 days
49ºN (Vancouver) 47 days

60. Feather colors
Pigments &
Structure

61. Pigment Colors Melanins: blk, dull yellow, red & brown Lipochromes
Carotenoids (from diet): red, yellow, orange, violet
Porphyrins (derived from hemoglobin): unstable, fade in sunlight; red, green, brown

62. Structural Feather Colors
Interference
Scattering

63. Interference produces iridescence

65. Scattering produces typical blue

67. Ultraviolet Colors

69. Digestive system