The term water bird, waterbird or aquatic bird is used to refer to birds that live on or around water. Some definitions apply the term especially to birds in freshwater habitats, though others make no distinction from birds that inhabit marine environments. In addition, some water birds are more terrestrial or aquatic than others, and their adaptations will vary depending on their environment. These adaptations include webbed feet, bills and legs adapted to feed in water, and the ability to dive from the surface or the air to catch prey in water.
The term aquatic bird is sometimes also used in this context. A related term that has a narrower meaning is waterfowl. Some birds of prey, such as ospreys and sea eagles, take prey from water but are not considered water birds. The term waterbird is also used in the context of conservation to refer to any birds that inhabit or depend on bodies of water or wetland areas. Examples of this use include the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) and the Wallnau Waterbird Reserve.
Some examples of water birds are:
- Seabirds (marine birds)
- Shorebirds (waders, order Charadriiformes)
- Anseriformes (ducks, geese, swans, magpie geese, screamers)
- Grebes (order Podicipediformes)
- Loons (order Gaviiformes)
- Ciconiiformes (storks, herons, egrets, ibises, spoonbills and others)
- Pelecaniformes (pelicans and others)
- Flamingos (order Phoenicopteriformes)
- Some members of the order Gruiformes (including cranes and rails, crakes, coots and moorhens)
- Kingfishers (mainly the water kingfishers, sometimes the river kingfishers, and rarely the tree kingfishers)
- Gulls (closely related to the terns and only distantly related to auks, skimmers, and more distantly to the waders)
Famous quotes containing the words water and/or bird:
“Not yet old enough for a man, nor young enough for a boy; as a squash is before ‘tis a peascod, or a codling when ‘tis almost an apple. ‘Tis with him in standing water between boy and man.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“Some say that ever ‘gainst that season comes
Wherein our Saviour’s birth is celebrated,
The bird of dawning singeth all night long:
And then, they say, no spirit dare stir abroad,
The nights are wholesome, then no planets strike,
No fairy tale nor witch hath power to charm,
So hallow’d and so gracious is the time.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)