Fascinating Seabirds_ Searching for Facts

Here on the west coast, we are lucky to see so many interesting creatures, on land and at sea.  There are a great many species of seabirds; all are fascinating to watch.  The different types of seabirds nevertheless share certain characteristics.  For example, nearly all seabirds have a waterproof outer layer of feathers covering a dense layer of down.  This helps protect the bird from getting wet and cold.  Seabirds also have webbed feet which help them move easily through the water. Additionally, seabirds have special salt glands in their heads to strain out the large amounts of salt they ingest in the water they drink and the food they eat.  Some birds live nearly their entire lives soaring over, or swimming in the ocean.  They return to land only for breeding.

There are four basic feeding strategies for birds that feed at sea:
1.  Surface feeding
2.  Pursuit diving
3.  Plunge diving
4.  Scavenging

The surface feeders skim the water looking for food.

When they see something near the surface, they scoop it up in their bills.

Pursuit divers go after fish or other food under the water.

They dive down and use their wings to swim after creatures they can eat.

The plunge divers fly high above the water looking for fish swimming under water.

When they spot a fish, they plummet head first, like a rocket, into the water in pursuit of their prey.

 Scavengers are birds that take food from other animals, or find food that has been left.

Of these basic types of seabirds, I'm especially intrigued by the plunge divers.  Some examples of plunge diving birds are:

Blue-footed boobies 

Kingfishers 

Terns 

Gannets

One of my favorite plunge divers is the Brown Pelican.

Brown Pelicans can dive from up to 70 feet above the water, directly onto a swimming fish!

Their skulls have a special bony plate near the front, allowing them to withstand the heavy impact of such a hard dive.

As they hit the water, pelicans open their large gullets, (the pouch of skin under their chin), and in pops the fish!

Busy Brains like to search for fascinating facts!

When I'm interested in a topic, I go to the library or to the Internet to learn more.  This can be fun to do, if you know how to search effectively.  It's important to know some basic guidelines for how to search for information, otherwise, you'll be aimlessly wandering through books, files, or websites without ever finding what you want.

Here are a few tips:

If you go to the library, you need to first find the section of the library that has what you're looking for.  The library is organized using a system of numbers, called the Dewey Decimal System. 

The numbers begin at 0 and continue through the 900s.  The basic categories are:

000  Generalities

100  Philosophy

200  Religion

300  Social Sciences

400  Lang

500  Science and Math

600  Applied Science

700  Art

800  Literature

900  Geography and History

Now, within each these basic categories, there are more specific subtopics.  For example, let's look at the 

subtopics within the 500 category, Science and Math:

500          SCIENCE AND MATH

500 Science Experiments

510 Mathematics

520 Stars, Planets, Astronomy

530 Physical Science- force & motion, electricity, magnetism

540 Chemistry, Atoms & Molecules

550 Volcanoes, Earthquakes, Weather

560 Dinosaurs, Prehistoric Animals

570 Forests, Deserts, Mountains, Oceans, Evolution

580 Plants & Trees

590 Animals & Insects

Each "decade number" between 500 and 590 represents a smaller subtopic.  So if you wanted to look up facts about your favorite sea bird, like I did, you would first go to the 500s, then look in the 590 section 

because that section has nonfiction books about animals and insects.  In the 590s, you'd find a special section of books about birds.

The Internet is another way to search for information you're interested in.

But be careful!  There are many sites on the Internet that are inappropriate for kids, so it's best to do your Internet searching with a grown-up.

A key to finding what you want on the Internet is in using the right "key words".  First go to a search engine, such as Google.  Then type in key word(s) that are important to your topic.  For example, to find information about my favorite sea birds, I typed in key words like:  ocean, birds, pelican, plunge divers, etc. 

Busy Brains Challenge:

Choose a favorite animal.  Use the library or the Internet (with an adult's help) to research some interesting facts about your animal.  Share something new you've learned with us!  

Here's how to share your answer with other Busy Brains:

1.  First, click on the title of this post.  

2.  Go to the bottom of the post and click on the words "Post a comment".

Come on!  It's easy and fun!  You'll be able to see your answer posted with the other answers on the next Busy Brains posting!