{"id":5,"date":"2015-07-11T14:06:39","date_gmt":"2015-07-11T14:06:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/snowysheathbill.com\/?page_id=5"},"modified":"2015-08-16T10:21:48","modified_gmt":"2015-08-16T10:21:48","slug":"homepage","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/snowysheathbill.com\/","title":{"rendered":"Homepage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Snowy Sheathbill \u2013 Chionis alba
\n<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Other names: American Sheathbill; Yellow-billed Sheathbill; Greater Sheathbill; Sore-eyed Pigeons; <\/span><\/strong><\/span>Paddy; Hens with attitude; Mutts; Sh*t Chicken.
\n<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Spanish: Paloma Antarctica
\nGerman: Weissgesicht Scheidenschnabel
\nFrench: Grand Bec-en-Fourreau<\/p>\n

Just two species of Sheathbill are in the Chionididae<\/em> Family. Both species are geographically isolated. They belong to the Genus Chionis<\/em>. <\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

(The other Sheathbill is the Black-faced Sheathbill (Chionis minor<\/em>), also known as Lesser Sheathbill are found in the sub-Antarctic Islands of the Indian Ocean. This species has totally black bill and leg colour, although variable, is different being black to pinkish-white. There are four sub-species of Black-faced Sheathbills recognised – differences being in the shape of the sheath and the colour of facial wattles and their legs.)<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"sheathbill<\/a>
sheathbill dispute<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/td>\n
\n
\"sheathbill<\/a>
sheathbill head<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/td>\n
\n
\"watchful<\/a>
watchful sheathbill<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

During the breeding season Snowy Sheathbills can be found round the rocky shorelines of the Antarctic Peninsula, South Shetlands, South Orkneys and South Georgia. Non breeding birds and during the winter (of the Southern Hemisphere) birds are found in the south east of South America – Patagonia, Uruguay, the Falklands and occasionally as far north as Brazil. Ship assisted birds have made South Africa and Europe. <\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"sheathbill<\/a>
sheathbill amongst gentoos<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/td>\n
\n
\"sheathbill<\/a>
sheathbill in the ice<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/td>\n
\n
\"sheathbill<\/a>
sheathbill on one leg<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Status: Not Globally Threatened <\/span><\/strong>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Population consists of approximately 10,000 pairs<\/p>\n

Range: Sub-Antarctic Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula. Birds in south of range migrate to South America and the Falkland Islands to winter. Ship assisted vagrants have reached Europe.<\/p>\n

Only species in Antarctica not to have webbed feet<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"sheathbill<\/a>
sheathbill footprints<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/td>\n
\n
\"sheathbill<\/a>
sheathbill feet<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Have an interesting little \u2018mutt \u2013 mutt \u2013 mutt\u2019 call<\/p>\n

Birds regularly roost on one leg, often hopping around rather than using two legs.<\/p>\n

Omnivorous – steals krill, fish, eggs and small chicks from breeding penguins \u2013 also eat carrion, faeces, algae and invertebrates \u2013 limpets are common<\/p>\n

Breeding coincides with penguins and cormorants from whom they steal<\/p>\n

Most fights are during the courtship period<\/p>\n

Most conspicuous display is the \u2018bowing ceremony\u2019 used in, during and after pair formation.<\/p>\n

Normally nests in a crevice or under a rock<\/p>\n

Usually lay 2 \u2013 3 eggs<\/p>\n

Incubation is shared by both adults and takes between 28 and 32 days.<\/p>\n

Fledging between 50 and 60 days.<\/p>\n

Downy young are clearly recognisable<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Absent from breeding sites from April to October<\/p>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"reddit\"<\/a>\"pinterest\"<\/a>\"linkedin\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Snowy Sheathbill \u2013 Chionis alba Other names: American Sheathbill; Yellow-billed Sheathbill; Greater Sheathbill; Sore-eyed Pigeons; Paddy; Hens with attitude; Mutts; Sh*t Chicken. Spanish: Paloma Antarctica German: Weissgesicht Scheidenschnabel French: Grand Bec-en-Fourreau Just two species of Sheathbill are in the Chionididae Family. Both species are geographically isolated. They belong to the Genus Chionis. (The other Sheathbill … Continue reading Homepage<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/snowysheathbill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/snowysheathbill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/snowysheathbill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/snowysheathbill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/snowysheathbill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/snowysheathbill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":120,"href":"https:\/\/snowysheathbill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5\/revisions\/120"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/snowysheathbill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}