Error message
Unable to fetch location details at this time.
Snowy Sheathbill
Chionis albus
-63.522, -56.8783
Field Notes
Description:
All white feathers. Feet are not webbed. Lack of feathers near beak would suggest it might eat carrion. Saw just these two, together at this day's zodiac landing.
Notes:
Wikipedia says: It is an omnivore, a scavenger, and a kleptoparasite. It steals krill and fish from penguins and sometimes eats their eggs and down-covered chicks. It also eats carrion, animal feces, and, where available, human waste. It has been known to eat tapeworms that have been living in a chinstrap penguin's intestine.
Size: About 380–410 mm (15–16 in) long, with a wingspan of 760–800 mm (30–31 in).
Range: Lives in Antarctica, the Scotia Arc, the South Orkneys, and South Georgia. Snowy sheathbills living very far south migrate north in winter.
Comments (3)