Black-faced Sheathbill
Black sheathbills Schnabel ( Chionis minor)
The Black sheathbills Schnabel ( Chionis minor) is a species of the family of Sheathbills, a small family in the order Charadriiformes, belongs to the next of this type only the White sheathbills beak as extant species.
There are currently distinguished four subspecies.
Appearance
The Black sheathbills beak reaches a body length of 38-41 inches. The wingspan is 74 to 79 centimeters. The weight varies 450-760 grams. Similar to the White sheathbills beak remember the plump body and short legs in proportion to body at a chicken. The plumage is completely white, only the non -feathered areas on the face are black. Thus, the Black sheathbills beak from White sheathbills beak is different. The distribution areas of the two species, however, do not overlap.
Dissemination
The Black sheathbills beak grows on rocky shores and wetlands of the Prince Edward Islands, the Crozet Islands, Kerguelen and Heard on. Unlike the White sheathbills beak of the Black sheathbills beak is not migratory, but keeps all year round in its area of distribution.
Way of life
The Black sheathbills beak is an omnivore and a frequent Kleptoparasit. He steals fish and krill from other seabirds and also eats carrion, waste of human and eggs and chicks. He is one of the important predators in penguin colonies.
He almost always nests near Penguin or other seabird colonies. The breeding season occurs during the period October to April. The eggs are laid in the months from December to January, chicks can be observed in January and February. The nest usually consists of two to three eggs. These are incubated for 27 to 33 days. The chicks are the first 14 days of life constantly brooded and fledge at an age of 55 to 60 days.