About Charadriiformes
When looking all the orders in the class Aves, Charadriiformes is one of the most diverse with 19 families, 88 genera, and 365 species. Many of the birds that make up this order are known as shorebirds and have habitats surrounding the coast, but there are members in this order found around the world that also inhabit extreme areas such as the desert. Since most are found along the water they feed on small invertebrates and fish; however, those living in harsher conditions have adapted to eating vegetation.
Some of the birds in this order travel far from the coast and spend a lot of time in the water, but in order to breed and lay eggs they come back to shore at one time or another. Charadriiformes are a lot like humans with their mating habits in the respect that many species are monogamous. Most only have one mate per mating season, and some species even pick the same mate each season. Once the mating has occurred many families exhibit a tactic known as colonial nesting. With this strategy large numbers of individuals nest and raise their young in a single location where food resources are plentiful.
Charadriiformes can be even further classified by some by being split up into three suborders: waders, aerial divers, and divers. Waders gather food from coastal waters and mud, aerial divers gather food from the open sea, and divers dip down underneath the water to catch fish. Just by looking at these three groups one can tell that this group is extremely diverse; however, these are just the birds that live in a habitat surrounded by water. The birds that live in the deserts and dense woodlands along with the shorebirds make this order one of the most diverse that there is.
Members Include
Auks - Three members occur in Northeast America including the Razorbill, Thick-Billed Murre, and Common MurreGulls- Over ten species of gulls occur in Northeast America including the Laughing Gull and Great Black-Backed Gull
Jacanas- Can be found from Mexico to Texas
Painted-snipes- Can be found in Africa, India, South America, and Australia
Phalaropes- Can be found in Western North America
Plovers- The Black-Bellied Plover can be found in Northeast America during the winter
Pratincoles- Can be found in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia
Sandpipers- About 15 members occur in Northeast America including the Spotted Sandpiper and Upland Sandpiper
Seedsnipes- Can be found in South America
Sheathbills- Can be found in the Antarctic region and South America
Skimmers- The Black Skimmer can be found in Northeast America
Skuas- The Great Skua and South Polar Skua can be found in Northeast America
Stilts- The Black-Necked Stilt can be found in Northeast America
Terns- Twelve members can be found in Northeast America including Foster's Tern, Least Tern, and Gull-billed Tern
Auks
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| Atlantic Puffin |
As a member of the Alcidae family, these birds most resemble what most wold recognize as penguins due to their coloring, waddling motion, and behavior. Like penguins, auks are excellent swimmers and dive to catch their pray; however, unlike penguins, auks are able to fly more efficiently by rapidly flapping their wings. In order to feed more efficiently Auks are found in colder northern waters in the open sea and only come to land to breed. One member, the Great Auk became extinct in the mid 19th century, and four other species are currently threatened.
Atlantic Puffin
Gulls
Laughing Gull
Gulls are medium to large sized birds in the Laridae family. They vary in colors of grey, white, and black and typically have webbed feet. They generally feed on small fish and crabs, but they don't always pick them out of the water themselves. Most often they attack other predators of their prey and then steal it. The laughing gull pictured on the right is usually found in salt marshes, coastlines, parks, and farm fields, and is most popular in New Jersey during the summer. As of now 6 species are threatened.
Call of Laughing Gull
Seedsnipes
Grey Breasted Seedsnipe
Seedsnipes are part of the family Thinocoridae. These birds are unique in this order in the sense that they have adapted to be able to eat vegetation. Although seeds are a part of their name, they hardly ever eat them; instead they most often feed on other plants and herbs. They have short bills and short tails and legs, but have long wings. They are most often found in harsh environments including the forests, deserts, and grasslands of South America. Currently seedsnipes do not face extinction.
Rufous-bellied Seedsnipe
Atlantic Puffin
Gulls
Laughing Gull
Gulls are medium to large sized birds in the Laridae family. They vary in colors of grey, white, and black and typically have webbed feet. They generally feed on small fish and crabs, but they don't always pick them out of the water themselves. Most often they attack other predators of their prey and then steal it. The laughing gull pictured on the right is usually found in salt marshes, coastlines, parks, and farm fields, and is most popular in New Jersey during the summer. As of now 6 species are threatened.
Call of Laughing Gull
Atlantic Puffin
Gulls
Laughing Gull
Gulls are medium to large sized birds in the Laridae family. They vary in colors of grey, white, and black and typically have webbed feet. They generally feed on small fish and crabs, but they don't always pick them out of the water themselves. Most often they attack other predators of their prey and then steal it. The laughing gull pictured on the right is usually found in salt marshes, coastlines, parks, and farm fields, and is most popular in New Jersey during the summer. As of now 6 species are threatened.
Call of Laughing Gull
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| Laughing Gull |
Gulls are medium to large sized birds in the Laridae family. They vary in colors of grey, white, and black and typically have webbed feet. They generally feed on small fish and crabs, but they don't always pick them out of the water themselves. Most often they attack other predators of their prey and then steal it. The laughing gull pictured on the right is usually found in salt marshes, coastlines, parks, and farm fields, and is most popular in New Jersey during the summer. As of now 6 species are threatened.
Seedsnipes
Grey Breasted Seedsnipe
Seedsnipes are part of the family Thinocoridae. These birds are unique in this order in the sense that they have adapted to be able to eat vegetation. Although seeds are a part of their name, they hardly ever eat them; instead they most often feed on other plants and herbs. They have short bills and short tails and legs, but have long wings. They are most often found in harsh environments including the forests, deserts, and grasslands of South America. Currently seedsnipes do not face extinction.
Rufous-bellied Seedsnipe
Seedsnipes
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Grey Breasted Seedsnipe
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Seedsnipes are part of the family Thinocoridae. These birds are unique in this order in the sense that they have adapted to be able to eat vegetation. Although seeds are a part of their name, they hardly ever eat them; instead they most often feed on other plants and herbs. They have short bills and short tails and legs, but have long wings. They are most often found in harsh environments including the forests, deserts, and grasslands of South America. Currently seedsnipes do not face extinction.
Rufous-bellied Seedsnipe
Skimmers
Skimmers
Black Skimmer
Skimmers are part of the Rynchopidae family. These birds are unique because they are the only birds with the lower bill being longer than the upper bill. They are able to use this lower bill to its advantage when scooping up fish as it skims over the water. The black skimmer to the right is one of three species of skimmers and the only one found in Eastern North America. It is distinctive in the fact that it is the only bird to have slit-shaped pupils. Skimmers can be found along beaches, marshes, and open waters. As of now one species of skimmers is threatened.
Black Skimmer
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Black Skimmer
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Skimmers are part of the Rynchopidae family. These birds are unique because they are the only birds with the lower bill being longer than the upper bill. They are able to use this lower bill to its advantage when scooping up fish as it skims over the water. The black skimmer to the right is one of three species of skimmers and the only one found in Eastern North America. It is distinctive in the fact that it is the only bird to have slit-shaped pupils. Skimmers can be found along beaches, marshes, and open waters. As of now one species of skimmers is threatened.
Black Skimmer
Skuas
South Polar Skua
Skuas are part of the family Stercorariidae. They range from medium to large in size and are generally strong fliers; being able to fly is a necessity for these birds to be migrants. Skuas general feed by stealing fish from other birds; it will also attack other birds if fish is not available. The South Polar Skua to the right can be found on the coast of North and South America in the summer and as far as the Pacific and Indian Oceans when wintering. The conservation of Skuas are also not threatened.
South Polar Skua Call
Skuas
South Polar Skua
Skuas are part of the family Stercorariidae. They range from medium to large in size and are generally strong fliers; being able to fly is a necessity for these birds to be migrants. Skuas general feed by stealing fish from other birds; it will also attack other birds if fish is not available. The South Polar Skua to the right can be found on the coast of North and South America in the summer and as far as the Pacific and Indian Oceans when wintering. The conservation of Skuas are also not threatened.
South Polar Skua Call
Skuas
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South Polar Skua
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Skuas are part of the family Stercorariidae. They range from medium to large in size and are generally strong fliers; being able to fly is a necessity for these birds to be migrants. Skuas general feed by stealing fish from other birds; it will also attack other birds if fish is not available. The South Polar Skua to the right can be found on the coast of North and South America in the summer and as far as the Pacific and Indian Oceans when wintering. The conservation of Skuas are also not threatened.
South Polar Skua Call
References
"The Internet Bird Collection." The Internet Bird Collection. Web. 01 June 2012. <http://ibc.lynxeds.com/>.
Roberson, Don. "Bird Families of the World, 11th Ed." Bird Families of the World, 11th Ed. Mar. 2012. Web. 31 May 2012. <http://creagrus.home.montereybay.com/list.html>.
"Terns Gulls Plovers and Other Shorebirds: Charadriiformes - Behavior And Reproduction." - Breeding, Species, Hatch, and Charadriiforms. Web. 01 June 2012. <http://animals.jrank.org/pages/656/Gulls-Terns-Plovers-Other-Shorebirds-Charadriiformes-BEHAVIOR-REPRODUCTION.html>.
YouTube. Dir. Inyourstory. YouTube. YouTube, 11 Sept. 2010. Web. 03 June 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3RCD2l2DXg>.
YouTube. Dir. JSHBirder. YouTube. YouTube, 28 Jan. 2011. Web. 03 June 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKZ2_mITLNM>.
YouTube. Dir. Khaledazamnoor. YouTube. YouTube, 13 June 2010. Web. 03 June 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljv3vrTpOLo>.
YouTube. Dir. KillbotLuna. YouTube. YouTube, 12 Mar. 2008. Web. 03 June 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IS3HSguQNM8>.
YouTube. Dir. PuffinProject. YouTube. YouTube, 01 June 2008. Web. 03 June 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUvP-pyOPqQ>.
Nice job! I really like the video links.
ReplyDeleteInteresting fact that this order can be subdivided into waders, aerial divers and divers. I've never really thought about that before!
Great page! The skua is diesel! I had no idea that they were such nasty predators. I checked out a video that was on the queue after looking at your "skua call" video. It was called "skua vs. puffin". Check it out...the bird acts like a raptor!
ReplyDeleteYeah that is a really cool video. I guess it shows that fish are not the only food source for birds who live near the water.
DeleteNice Blog. I enjoyed the video on the Black Skimmer. Do you know the reason it has slit shaped pupils?
ReplyDeleteIt has to do with the fact that it's diurnal which means it hunts for fish mostly at dawn and dusk. There is low light visibility at these times of day so the slit shape helps it to be able to see. I guess you could kind of compare it to a cat only in bird form.
DeleteReally nice job!
ReplyDeleteDoes the weet weet weet call and the bobbing of his tail go together to show that it is destressed or are they 2 separate actions?
ReplyDeleteThe bobbing of the tail up and down is actually a part of their walk which they are known for. When they walk or forage for fish their body does sort of a teetering motion which helps to distinguish them from solitary sandpipers. They might bob their tails more rapidly when distressed, but I'm not sure.
Delete