The science
Diet & Nutrition
Seabirds feed on fish, squid, krill and plankton. How they catch it varies as much as what they eat.
What they eat
Small schooling fish are the staple for many species, such as sand eels, capelin, anchovies and herring. Albatrosses and petrels take a great deal of squid. Many penguins and small petrels rely on krill.
How they feed
- Plunge diving: gannets, boobies, terns and tropicbirds dive from the air.
- Pursuit diving: penguins, auks, cormorants and shearwaters chase prey underwater. Emperor penguins can dive more than 500 m deep.
- Surface feeding: albatrosses and many petrels seize prey at or near the surface.
- Stealing: frigatebirds and skuas harass other birds until they drop their catch.
Energy for the long haul
Albatrosses and petrels produce a rich stomach oil from their food. It stores energy for long flights and helps feed chicks that may wait days between meals.
A warning signal
Because seabirds depend on forage fish, a failing diet shows up quickly in breeding failure. Researchers study diets from regurgitated food, pellets and chemical markers in feathers. The results often reveal changes in the ocean long before they appear in fisheries data.
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