The term "seabird" is used here to denote birds that obtain the majority of their food from coastal waters (neritic species) or from the open ocean (pelagic species), although some people restrict its use to the latter group. Neritic seabirds use the land for feeding or resting at certain times, whereas pelagic seabirds are largely independent of the land except for nesting. By this definition, marine ducks, such as eiders and scoters, and shorebirds, such as phalaropes, are seabirds. So are the pelagic species, of which three species of alcid, three saltwater terns, three gulls, two cormorants, one eider and one storm petrel breed here in Nova Scotia. (A list of the species which breed in Nova Scotia is included.)

This Document Includes:

Coastal Habitats
Food Supply
Breeding
Breeding Species
Pelagic Species
Neritic Species
Other Pelagic Birds
Seabirds Outside the Breeding Season
Distribution
Historical Changes
Cultural Factors

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Additional Keywords:
islands, upwelling, breeding colonies, productivity, exploitation, population, Atlantic Puffin.

Associated Topics:

T6.1 Ocean Currents
T6.2 Oceanic Environments
T6.3 Coastal Aquatic Environments
T6.4 Estuaries
T11.14 Marine Fishes
T11.15 Amphibians and Reptiles
T11.16 Land and Freshwater Invertebrates
T12.11 Animals and Resources

Associated Habitats:

H1.2 Benthic
H2.1 Rocky Shore
H5.3 Cliff and Bank