Ranger Rick's Can You Believe This?

Ranger Rick, Feb, 2000 by Cynthia Berger

Truly Amazing Facts about Seabirds

TAKING THE PLUNGE

Emperor penguins hold the world's record for the deepest diving bird. When looking for fish, these jumbo-sized penguins can dive more than 850 feet (255 m) deep. (It would take about 1,300 stair steps to go down that far.) In order to survive such a deep dive and return to the surface safely, a penguin has to hold its breath for as long as 18 minutes.

SMELLY SPRAY, STAY-AWAY

Giant petrels (PET-rulz) have a great way to scare off predators that get too close to their nests. They throw up all over them! These seabirds feed on dead whales and rotting fish. So you can imagine what their barf smells like--pee-yew! No wonder giant petrels are nicknamed "stinkers."

PIRATE BIRDS

Why catch your own dinner when you can steal it from someone else? That's what a frigatebird (FRIG-it-bird) sometimes does. Of course, it can catch its own food. But often a frigatebird will watch till it sees another bird catch a fish. It chases the other bird through the air like a fighter jet. Then it dives at the bird and jabs it to make it drop the fish.

What if the other bird has already swallowed its meal? The frigatebird may grab its victim by the tail and dangle the bird upside down in mid- air. That's enough to make the other bird cough up the fish. Then the frigatebird swoops and grabs an in-flight meal.

MEGA-MIGRATION

Can you believe there are seabirds that go from the top of the world to the bottom and back again every year? Arctic terns spend the summer in the Arctic, raising their babies. When fall comes, they head south--but they don't stop till they get all the way to Antarctica. Arctic terns make the world's longest migration--a 22,000 mile (35,200 km) round trip. That's farther than driving from New York to Los Angeles seven times!