Water bird
Encyclopedia
The term water bird or waterbird is used to refer to birds that live on or around water. Some definitions apply the term especially to birds in freshwater habitats, though others make no distinction from birds that inhabit marine environments. In addition, some water birds are more terrestrial or aquatic than others, and their adaptations will vary depending on their environment. These adaptations include webbed feet, bills and legs adapted to feed in water, and the ability to dive from the surface or the air to catch prey in water.
The term aquatic bird is sometimes also used in this context. A related term that has a narrower meaning is waterfowl
. Some birds of prey, such as osprey
s and sea eagle
s, take prey from water but are not considered water birds. The term waterbird is also used in the context of conservation to refer to any birds that inhabit or depend on bodies of water or wetland areas. Examples of this use include the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) and the Wallnau Waterbird Reserve
.
Some examples of water birds are:
The term aquatic bird is sometimes also used in this context. A related term that has a narrower meaning is waterfowl
Waterfowl
Waterfowl are certain wildfowl of the order Anseriformes, especially members of the family Anatidae, which includes ducks, geese, and swans....
. Some birds of prey, such as osprey
Osprey
The Osprey , sometimes known as the sea hawk or fish eagle, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and across the wings...
s and sea eagle
Sea Eagle
Sea eagle mainly refers to Sea eagle, birds of prey of the genus Haliaeetus.It may also refer to:-Aerospace:* Sea Eagle , British, anti-ship missile* Sea Eagle * Supermarine Sea Eagle, 1920s British passenger flying boat-Sports:...
s, take prey from water but are not considered water birds. The term waterbird is also used in the context of conservation to refer to any birds that inhabit or depend on bodies of water or wetland areas. Examples of this use include the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) and the Wallnau Waterbird Reserve
Wallnau Waterbird Reserve
The Wallnau Waterbird Reserve is one of the most important reserves for migratory birds in Germany and the largest of NABU's nature conservation centres. The former pond estate of Wallnau lies on the west coast of the Baltic island of Fehmarn and covers, in its core zone, an area of just under ,...
.
Some examples of water birds are:
- SeabirdSeabirdSeabirds are birds that have adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same environmental problems and feeding niches have resulted in similar adaptations...
s (marine birds) - Shorebirds (waders, order Charadriiformes)
- AnseriformesAnseriformesThe order Anseriformes contains about 150 living species of birds in three extant families: the Anhimidae , Anseranatidae , and the Anatidae, which includes over 140 species of waterfowl, among them the ducks, geese, and swans.All species in the order are highly adapted for an aquatic existence at...
(ducks, geese, swans, magpie geese, screamers) - GrebeGrebeA grebe is a member of the Podicipediformes order, a widely distributed order of freshwater diving birds, some of which visit the sea when migrating and in winter...
s (order Podicipediformes) - LoonLoonThe loons or divers are a group of aquatic birds found in many parts of North America and northern Eurasia...
s (order Gaviiformes) - CiconiiformesCiconiiformesTraditionally, the order Ciconiiformes has included a variety of large, long-legged wading birds with large bills: storks, herons, egrets, ibises, spoonbills, and several others. Ciconiiformes are known from the Late Eocene...
(storks, herons, egrets, ibises, spoonbills and others) - PelecaniformesPelecaniformesThe Pelecaniformes is a order of medium-sized and large waterbirds found worldwide. As traditionally—but erroneously—defined, they encompass all birds that have feet with all four toes webbed. Hence, they were formerly also known by such names as totipalmates or steganopodes...
(pelicans and others) - FlamingoFlamingoFlamingos or flamingoes are gregarious wading birds in the genus Phoenicopterus , the only genus in the family Phoenicopteridae...
s (order Phoenicopteriformes) - Some members of the order GruiformesGruiformesThe Gruiformes are an order containing a considerable number of living and extinct bird families, with a widespread geographical diversity. Gruiform means "crane-like"....
(including cranesCrane (bird)Cranes are a family, Gruidae, of large, long-legged and long-necked birds in the order Gruiformes. There are fifteen species of crane in four genera. Unlike the similar-looking but unrelated herons, cranes fly with necks outstretched, not pulled back...
and railsRallidaeThe rails, or Rallidae, are a large cosmopolitan family of small to medium-sized birds. The family exhibits considerable diversity and the family also includes the crakes, coots, and gallinules...
, crakes, coots and moorhens) - Kingfishers (mainly the water kingfisherWater KingfisherThe water kingfishers or Cerylidae are one of the three families of kingfishers, and are also known as the cerylid kingfishers. All six American species are in this family....
s, sometimes the river kingfishers, and rarely the tree kingfisherTree kingfisherThe tree kingfishers or wood kingfishers, family Halcyonidae, are the most numerous of the three families of birds in the kingfisher group, with between 56 and 61 species in around 12 genera, including several species of kookaburras. The family appears to have arisen in Indochina and the Maritime...
s)