Snowy Sheathbill

Snowy Sheathbill
A Snowy Sheathbill (Chionis alba)
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Charadriiformes
Family:	Chionididae
Genus:	Chionis
Species:	C. albus
Binomial name
Chionis albus Gmelin, 1789
Synonyms
Chionis alba Gmelin, 1789 Vaginalis alba [2] Gmelin, 1789

The Snowy Sheathbill (Chionis albus) also known as a Pale-faced sheathbill or Paddy is one of two species of sheathbill. It is usually found on the ground. It is Antarctica's only permanently land-based bird.^[3]

Description

A Snowy Sheathbill is about 15-16 inches long, with a wingspan of 30-31.5 inches. They are pure white except for their pink warty faces (Chionis albus means "snow white".)^[4]

Range

The Snowy Sheathbill lives in Antarctica, the Scotia Arc, the South Orkneys and South Georgia. Snowy Sheathbills living very far south migrate north in winter.^[3]

Lifestyle

Because Snowy Sheathbills do not have webbed feet, they would have difficulty fishing for food. Instead, they scavenge food on land.

Diet

Sheathbills are omnivores and specialize in kleptoparasitism. They steal krill and fish from penguins and sometimes eat their eggs and down-covered chicks. They also eat carrion, feces, auks, invertebrates and, where available, human waste A Snowy Sheathbill has been seen eating a tapeworm that had been living in a Chinstrap Penguin's intestine.^[4]

Gallery

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  Snowy Sheathbills

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  Snowy Sheathbill

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  Snowy Sheathbill

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References

1. ^ BirdLife International (2004). Chionis alba. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 03 July 2007. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
2. ^ The Internet Bird Collection. "Pale-faced Sheathbill (Chionis alba)". http://ibc.lynxeds.com/species/pale-faced-sheathbill-chionis-alba. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Briggs, Mike; Briggs, Peggy (2004). The Encyclopedia of World Wildlife. Parragon Publishing. ISBN 1-40543-679-4. 
4. ^ ^{a b} Lynch, Wayne (September 26, 2001). The Scoop on Poop. Fifth House Books. ISBN 1-894004-59-0. 

This Charadriiformes-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: IUCN Red List least concern species Antarctic birds Chionidi Birds of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Animals described in 1789 Charadriiformes stubs Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую USS Fidelity (AM-443) Piotrkowska Street Look at other dictionaries: Sheathbill — Sheathbills A Snowy Sheathbill (C. albus) Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia …   Wikipedia sheathbill — /sheeth bil /, n. either of two white sea birds, Chionis alba or C. minor, of the colder parts of the Southern Hemisphere: so called from the horny sheath covering the base of the upper bill. [1775 85; SHEATH + BILL2] * * * ▪ bird Sy Montgomery… …   Universalium List of birds of Chile — The Andean Condor is the national bird of Chile. This is a list of the bird species recorded in Chile. The avifauna of Chile includes a total of 479 species (324 non passerines and 155 passerines), of which 12 are endemic (with 8 species… …   Wikipedia List of African birds — This list of African birds is a listing of all the bird species known from the continent of Africa. TOCrightNotesThere are over 45 billion different species of birds in Africa.The taxonomy of this list adheres to James Clitorus Birds of the World …   Wikipedia List of birds of Brazil — Brazil has one of the richest bird diversities in the world, with more than 1700 species of birds, about 57% of the bird species recorded for all of South America. These numbers are still increasing, almost every year, due to new occurrences or… …   Wikipedia Sibley-Monroe checklist 8 — The Sibley Monroe checklist was a landmark document in the study of birds. It drew on extensive DNA DNA hybridisation studies to reassess the relationships between modern birds. Ciconiiformes (continued)Chionididae* Chionis alba Snowy Sheathbill… …   Wikipedia List of birds of Uruguay — This is a list of the bird species recorded in Uruguay. The avifauna of Uruguay includes a total of 477 species, of which 5 have been introduced by humans, and 46 are rare or accidental. 18 species are globally threatened.This list s taxonomic… …   Wikipedia List of birds of Argentina — This is a list of the bird species recorded in Argentina. The avifauna of Argentina includes a total of 1026 species, of which 20 are endemic, 7 have been introduced by humans, and 70 are rare or accidental. 45 species are globally… …   Wikipedia Paddy — may refer to: *Paddy, a masculine given name, and a common diminutive for Patrick or Pádraig *Paddy, slang (usually derogatory) term in British English for an Irish person *Paddy Whiskey, a brand of Irish whiskey manufactured by The Cork… …   Wikipedia Chionophile — Animals that can thrive in cold winter conditions are called chionophiles ( from the Greek chion meaning snow, and phile meaning lover ). These animals have specialized adaptations that help them survive the harshest winters. Japanese Macaques… …   Wikipedia 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”