What Do Seabirds Eat? - Kylon Powell

May 2023 · 2 minute read

Classified by their diet, seabirds are the wading long-legged birds native to marine water. Their diet comprises various aquatic fish swimming at the surface level of the water.

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Seabirds heavily rely on the diet of various fish species that they can capture with their hunting skills. From feeding on small fish to ingesting crustaceans, seabirds enjoy a varied diet of fish species. Read on to learn “what do seabirds eat?”

Insects, Animals, and Fish

Seabirds have adapted to employing some distinct hunting skills to capture prey species. Their specialized anatomical structures coupled with their behavior aid them in capturing food from water.

Using techniques like surface feeding and pursuit diving, seabirds can dip their heads underwater for forage. That said, seabirds eat fish, shrimp, krill, jellyfish, meat of various other aquatic organisms.

Walking on the surface of the water, seabirds can catch squid, krill, other fishes pushed above with water currents. In addition to these, seabirds eat fish like anchovies, sand eels, herring, sardines, and other marine fish species.

As fiery as they can get, seabirds also eat penguins, seal pups, and other aquatic species of babies. On rare occasions, seabirds would also consume carrion and leftovers. In the case of food supply scarcity, seabirds would eat other seabirds if the opportunity presents itself.

Fruit, Vegetables, and Plants

The mouthparts of the seabirds are specially designed to adapt to consuming fish. Unlike birds of other species that feed on insects, seabirds exclusively feed on marine species.

Seabirds don’t forage for plants or vegetation as their majority of diet comes from fish species. Hence, seabirds don’t eat plants, vegetables, fruit, or other growing vegetation. However, seabird eat plastic as they are attracted to its murky smell.

What seabirds don’t eat?

Like other species of birds, seabirds have food preferences and foods that they avoid eating. Seabirds don’t eat crabs, zooplankton, seaweed, plants, or plankton.

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