Hatchet, or hatchet - an amazing bird. It got its name due to the unusual shape of the beak, which really looks a bit like an ax heel. For life, she chooses harsh places, preferring to settle on the shores of the cold northern seas. We will talk about the appearance and habits of the bird further.
Hatchet bird
The Chistikov family includes many interesting-looking birds. It includes puffins with flat orange beaks, grooms with a tassel of feathers on the bridge of the nose and visks reminiscent of penguins in appearance. All of them are inhabitants of the sea and can spend in the water for many months, not at all getting out to shore.
Cute amazing hatchet birds are no exception. They live in the northern waters of the Pacific Ocean. Birds are found near Kamchatka, the Commander and Kuril Islands, near Sakhalin and Japan. Off the coast of North America, they are distributed from the Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska to California.
Appearance
Hatchet is a small bird whose body length is about 35-40 centimeters. The populations living in the western seas of the ocean, as a rule, are larger than those living in the eastern seas. An interesting beak of a bird. At the hatchet it is flattened laterally, but rather large in height. It is stretched forward and rounded to the edge. The base of the beak is a little greenish, and the rest of it is yellow-orange. The short and powerful legs of the birds are painted yellow. Like all waterfowl species, they have membranes between the fingers.
The dense squat body of hatchets is completely covered with blue-black plumage. But so the birds look only in the winter. With the advent of spring, both males and females are transformed, acquiring a more expressive coloring. Their legs turn red-orange, their cheeks turn pure white, and their beak darkens a lot and takes on a bright red color. Another new thing is the long tassels of yellowish feathers that appear above the eyes. All this is necessary during the mating season to attract a partner.
Lifestyle & Reproduction
In winter, birds hatchets constantly roam in the open ocean and in the open sea. In the spring they sail to the shores to get offspring. They settle on small isolated islands or on inaccessible coasts. Other waterfowl species are often present next to them, together they collect huge bird markets.
Hatchets do not make nests, but pull them out in the ground with a strong beak and flat paws. Therefore, the main condition for them is the presence of a sufficient soil or peat layer. From year to year they fly to the same places, without changing the nest, but only deepening it. When the hole is ready, the birds line it with grass and leaves, and then lay the egg.
Each pair has only one chick. In the first weeks of life, he is completely defenseless, so his parents carefully guard him, taking turns flying away in search of food. After two months, the chick becomes quite old and independent, but he will be able to start his own family only after 3-4 years.
Behavior and Nutrition
By virtue of their lifestyle, hatchets are more confident swimmers than flyers. To accelerate well, they have to make a lot of quick swings. The maximum speed in this case reaches only 65 km / h. Separation from the earth always occurs heavily and with a strain. Nevertheless, in the air they feel good and can rise to considerable heights.
On the surface of the earth, birds usually straighten their bodies up and, if necessary, can run quite quickly. But best of all they can swim and dive. They are able to dive to a depth of 60 meters and hold their breath for several minutes. Under water, they actively help themselves with wings and paws, using them as oars.
The main ration of hatchets is fish, but from time to time adult birds prey on squid, sea urchins, and other invertebrates. Fishing spots are often far from the nest, so in their beak they try to carry as much prey as possible. There are cases when one bird brought up to 30 small fish at a time.
Hatchets themselves also often become alien prey. They are hunted by polar foxes, owls, peregrine falcons, bald eagles. Choosing remote uninhabited islets, they get rid of the threat of attack by land predators and, possibly, owls. But it’s more difficult to hide from flying enemies. Gray-winged gulls often settle next to bird markets, stealing other people's eggs or young chicks. They are much larger than hatchets and can take the catch, chasing them in the air.