Archive for July, 2010

it’s August on the coast of Iceland, and the air is mutilated with the growls of hundreds of stuffed puffins. The social birds have come to be for the breeding season short on earth, and the rocky coast, with their squat, football authorities in the form of coverage. From the ocean breaks a brilliant five years old male implementation of a dozen small herring in his beak. The flapping wings strongly, it rises from the waves on the rocks, where hungry chicks waiting in a cave hidden in the rocks. The puffin circles the sky above the building on several occasions in search of silver gulls that wait times on earth, to fly to catch a puffin OSA. But the air is pure and puffin down, falls into the dark cave with a shower. Immediately the spring chicken to life, demanding his dinner with a tiny squeak. Wrong gray and thick, with a piece of the beak, the chick hardly resembles his father striking black and white. And large, colorful beaks that are after the season is over, these Arctic birds have their nicknames, Aither sea parrot.

It was once questioned whether the puffin pelagic a cross between a bird and a fish. Left and land awkwardly forward, but it seems more adept at sea, where its short wings effectively promoted through the water for small herring and sand eels. His webbed feet act as a rudder, then the bird to maneuver sharp turns. Puffins can fly, and even with the wing beats 100-400 beats per minute to be in the air. But because the effort to take the flight, the puffins on the rocks, where they easily fall into the nest of the ocean. Puffins fly low to the water, and can reach speeds of up to 55 miles per hour.

A puffin aos power comes from the icy depths of the ocean, and a way to dive can last for twenty or thirty seconds or more. With their specialized beaks, puffins are able to keep fish several times. Their rough tongue against her keep fish spines on the palate, while the nose open for more. An average catch would be 10 to 12 fish, but we brought puffins reports 62 fish in its beak at once! Waterproof springs provide protection against the coldest cold, even in the waters of the Arctic. Even his color ready for its survival in the sea puffins, AOS dark color on the back, make it difficult for predators to distinguish dark wave, as it floats on the ocean bottom while the white underside of masks against the enemies of the ocean. This color is falsely called shadowing cons.

Worldwide, an estimated 12-15000000 puffins are three types: the Horned Puffin, named after its projections cornea in front of their eyes, the Tufted Puffin, straw-colored feathers remarkable spread of the crown the breeding season, and a puffin puffins that live only on the Atlantic Ocean, which has a steel blue triangle at the base of the beak. blurred in the 1800s, hunting has a native population in Maine, which has recovered since then. You are not currently threatened. breeds puffin colony on the coast of Alaska, Canada, North America and Northeast Asia, although Iceland is one quarter of the population of puffins breeding more. Coastline with thousands of breeding pairs completed the summer months. Puffins are monogamous, and that during companion for the winter, they spend some on the open sea, they usually return to the same partner, and even the same nest.

The mating ritual begins rigorous, while the couple is still at sea breeding pairs each pay run skypointing (breaking up), and propagation. Over time, reaching the shore birds, are well-established partnerships. The male makes the cave with his beak into the ground and his feet to dig the rock and other bulk materials cut. Ideally, the construction of 2-3 feet in length and protected from predators by rocks. Here, the female lays one egg a year. Together, the egg hatches, the couple, each in turn, hold it under a wing and pressed it against his body. Cooperating in this manner, the two birds able to leave the nest to feed.

If the eggs hatch 40-53 days later, the parents continue to share responsibility for the chicks. Feeding takes place four fifty-six times a day, and after the first day of life, chicks are left alone in the cave to await their next meal. The chick remains in the cave about 40-55 days, after which he waited until the eve before the opening, regardless of the construction of the first time. The younger the sea on their own, where he lived for the next two years. Puffin reach sexual maturity of three years, but will not mate normally return to their breeding grounds, 4-5 years old. Puffins live longer than 20 or more.

Historically, people have puffins for meat and clothing (his skin is waterproof and warm, wear upside down when used with sources), but hunting is now generally frowned upon. In some countries it is prohibited by law. Meanwhile, he came puffin value as indicators of ocean health. By observing the state of the population of puffins, scientists determine if overfishing is taking place or harmful pollution. Oil spills threaten puffins waterproofing of their feathers, making them vulnerable to cold temperatures. Another negative effect on the colonies of puffins was the inadvertent introduction of rats and foxes for the summer breeding areas.