The barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) is a common bird of the swallow family, Hirundinidae. It is a long-distance migrant and breeds around the world in the northern hemisphere and winters in the southern hemisphere. The North American subspecies, Hirundo rustica erythogaster, ranges from Alaska and Greenland to Tierra delFuego. Male barn swallows are glossy blue above; the under parts vary from white to deep chestnut, depending on the subspecies. The forehead and throat are bright chestnut, bordered by a complete or partial band of blue across the chest. The tail is deeply forked, and each tail feather, except the central pair, has a white spot on its inner web. Females are similar, but slightly duller in colour, with a shorter tail. Most barn swallows now nest in man-made structures, usually near water; buildings, culverts, bridges, or even ferries though their original nest sites were probably caves and crevices in cliffs. Research Barn Swallow
Brandt's Cormorant (Phalacrocorax penicillatus) is a medium-sized American seabird of the order Natatores, family Pelecanidae, with a long neck; long, slender hooked bill; dark brown to black in colour; dark throatpatch turns blue with a buff coloured area behind it in the breeding season. It dives from the surface, primarily for fish. It is a fairly common permanent resident along the Pacific Coast of California, preferring rocky shores, cliffs, fishing in inshore oceanwaters and breeds on Channel Islands. Research Brandt's Cormorant
The chough (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax) is a bird of the crow family with red feet and bill. It is found on sea cliffs. In English folk lore the spirit of King Arthur migrated into a Chough, and as a result Choughs were protected in Cornwall. Research Chough
The cormorant (Phalacrocorax) so named from the Latin meaning sea-crow, is a genus of birds of the Pelican (Pelicaniformes) family or sometimes forming a family by themselves. They have a longish and strongly-hooked bill, long neck, short wings, and rather long rounded tail; all the toes are united by a web, and, though excellent swimmers, they are able to perch on trees. Their colour is generally black or dark. The common cormorant of Europe (Phalacrocorax carto) is larger than a goose, but with smaller wings. It occupies cliffs by the sea, feeds on fish, and is extremely voracious. It dives and swims with great power, and pursues its prey beneath the surface of the water, often to a great depth. Amongst the Chinese cormorants have long been trained to fish for man. At first a ring is placed on the lower part of the bird's neck to prevent it swallowing the prey, and in time it learns to deliver the fish to its master without such a precaution being necessary. Another British cormorant is the green cormorant or shag (Phalacrocorax graculus). It is smaller than the common cormorant. Both these species are found also on the eastern coasts of America, and there are various other American as well as Australian species. Research Cormorant
The Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis) is a sea bird which lives on the sub-arctic shores of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans being found in Iceland, Great Britain, Brittany, the western coast of Norway, Greenland during the breeding season, the rest of its time being spent at sea. The Fulmar is predominantly whitish in colour with pale brown wings and tail above and is about 47 cm in length. The nest is built on rocky sea islands or coastal cliffs and one or sometimes two eggs are laid which are incubated by both parents taking turns for the fifty-two day incubation cycle The young leave the nest able to fly after about fifty days and reach maturity at seven years. Research Fulmar
The Gannet or Solan goose (Sula bassana) is a British sea bird of the family Pelecanidae. It is about one metre long with a wing span of 180 cm and the plumage is dirty white or grey. The bill is straight, and about 15 centimetres long and furnished beneath with a kind of pouch. The gannets are birds of passage, arriving in Great Britain about March and departing in August or September, their movements being partially determined by those of the herring, on which they feed. They migrate to the southward in the winter, and appear on the coast of Portugal. In the breeding season they retire to high rocks on unfrequented islands, such as the Hebrides, Orkneys, St Kilda, AilsaGraig, and the Bass Rock. The nests are generally formed of sea-weed. The female lays only one egg, though, if it is removed, she will deposit another. The young, which are much darker than the old birds, remain in the nest until nearly their full size, becoming extremely fat. In St Kilda they traditionally formed part of the food of the inhabitants, being taken by men lowered from the top of the cliffs. Research Gannet
The guillemot is a web-footed bird of the Alcidae family. The guillemot has a straight, compressed and pointed bill covered with feathers as far as the nostrils. The wings are pointed and very short and the legs are short and placed far back. Guillemots eat fish and nest on sea cliffs. Research Guillemot
The pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pipistrellus) is the smallest British bat, the span being only 20 centimetres. The ears are widely separated, longer than broad, and the external edge is definitely, though not deeply, notched and ends just behind the angle of the mouth. The tragus is bluntly pointed and its hind edge is rounded. The inner upper incisor is bifid, and the first upper premolar though smaller than the other teeth, is not so extremely minute in comparison with them as in the genus Nyctalus. The fur is long and extends on to both sides of the wing and on to the back of the interfemoral membrane; on the underside of the latter it is usually restricted to the neighbourhood of the tail and thighs. The colour of the fur varies from dark to light, almost reddish, brown; and the under side is slightly lighter. The colour is, however, subject to much individual variation. The pipistrelle occurs all over temperate Europe and extends far into Asia, probably to China; a closely allied subspecies inhabits eastern North America. In the British
Isles it is the commonest bat everywhere both in country and town, and extends from the south of England to the north of Scotland, the Orkneys and Shetlands, and from the West of Ireland to East Anglia.
Pipistrelles live in large or small colonies, or sometimes singly, hiding by day in cracks and crevices in buildings, cliffs and trees, behind loose bark and under ivy stems, but rarely in caves. Where the accommodation is big enough the colonies are often of large size and may contain several hundred bats, especially in summer. The bats emerge about dusk, coming out from crowded roosts in small parties which break up on taking to the wing. Research Pipistrelle
The razorbill (Alca torda) is a North Atlantic sea bird of the auk family, Alcidae, which breeds on cliffs and migrates south in winter. It has a curved beak and is black above and white below. It uses its wings as paddles when diving. Razorbills are common off Newfoundland. Research Razorbill
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Barn Swallow
