- published: 12 Jun 2011
- views: 1454093
Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that have adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same environmental problems and feeding niches have resulted in similar adaptations. The first seabirds evolved in the Cretaceous period, and modern seabird families emerged in the Paleogene.
In general, seabirds live longer, breed later and have fewer young than other birds do, but they invest a great deal of time in their young. Most species nest in colonies, which can vary in size from a few dozen birds to millions. Many species are famous for undertaking long annual migrations, crossing the equator or circumnavigating the Earth in some cases. They feed both at the ocean's surface and below it, and even feed on each other. Seabirds can be highly pelagic, coastal, or in some cases spend a part of the year away from the sea entirely.
Seabirds and humans have a long history together: they have provided food to hunters, guided fishermen to fishing stocks and led sailors to land. Many species are currently threatened by human activities, and conservation efforts are under way.
(Words and Music by Joan Baez)
Don't worry about my politics
They are what they are
I work best when I get some rest
Right now I'm in a bar
Overlooking the whole wide world
It's over the Pacific
I've never written when I was drunk
This could be terrific!
And the seabird struggles in the wind
She topples, balances again
The lady sitting next to me
Is gazing in the eyes
Of the stranger sitting next to her
Who is mouthing truths and lies
He's actually quite nice I guess
He has an honest look
He doesn't know I've lost my mind
Scribbling in this book
And the seabird struggles in the wind
She topples, balances again
Consumed by the evening's masterpiece
Completely introverted
From here I could stare down eternity
leave alone and not feel deserted
I'm tired of interesting faces
And the dull ones make my weep
Don't ask me what my sign is
Instant intimacy runs cheap
The ocean is so bountiful
It spreads from coast to coast
The winds scale off the whitecaps
And the things I love the most
Come wafting up into my lap
In the colors of the great sunrise
Children holding cupcakes
With paradise in their eyes
And the seabird struggles in the wind
She topples, balances again
Four big pelicans just flew by
The room got very still
One of them carried the breath of God
Tucked way back in his bill
I know it was the breath of God
It's the same as the secret of life
He's carrying it off to the Shah of Iran
To trade it for the end of strife
And the seabird struggles in the wind
She topples, balances again
© 1976, 1977 Gabriel Earl Music (ASCAP)