Description
& Characteristics:
Sheathbills are found all around the rocky shorelines of the
Antarctic Peninsula and sub-antarctic islands. Unlike true
seabirds that are able to swim and fish for food, sheathbills'
feet are not webbed. They are more suited to scavenging food
from other birds for which they are notorious. In a sense,
they are the garbage collectors of the Antarctic. One has
only to witness one of these odd birds strutting and squabbling
around a penguin colony
to confirm their opportunistic nature. Sealers called sheathbills
'paddies' because of their skills at theft; an insult to both
the Irish and the birds. The were also known as 'sore-eyed
pigeons,' or the more modern interpretation: "hens with
attitude" which upon seeing them seems an appropriate
name.
Lesser
or Black-faced sheathbills are strict residents of the four
sub-Antarctic island groups of the South Indian Ocean, each
island group with its own subspecies. Some populations of
Lesser sheathbills are on the decrease, possible due to competition
with introduced species such as mice and rats. The Snowy sheathbills
are somewhat larger, with noticeably longer wings, and occur
at South Georgia Island, the South Shetlands, the South Orkneys
and on the Antarctic Peninsula. They usually stay out of the
path of the sea-ice and move north to South America and the
Falklands in the winter when the worst weather comes.
There are
no known conservation problems for this species at the current
time.
Sheathbills
nest in rocky crevices in summer, usually near penguin colonies,
where the scavenging is best and where they seem to have no
fear. On occasion, they have been observed to disturb adult
penguins to the point of successfully stealing food right
from the mouths of feeding chicks. This is typically accomplished
by the focal bird when it strategically displaces the chick
before the parent finishes complete regurgitation. Food is
dropped onto the ground and the result is a happy sheathbill
and a hungry penguin chick.
