Birds · Charadriiformes · Chionidae

Snowy Sheathbill

Chionis albus

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

The snowy sheathbill is a charadriiform bird of the family Chionidae. It is a scavenging bird that lives in the subantarctic regions of South America and on the Antarctic Peninsula. Although in Spanish they are called doves for their general appearance and their manner of flight, they in fact belong not to the family Columbidae but to the family Chionidae, a group made up of only two members: those living in the Antarctic sector below South America, and those living in the Antarctic sector below the Indian Ocean.

Weight

460 g – 780 g

Size

34 cm – 41 cm

Lifespan

15 years

Diet

Omnivore

Combines animal and plant food depending on availability.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

In pairs

Usually lives in pairs, sometimes for life.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

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Fun facts

It is the only bird in Antarctica without webbed feet: it neither swims nor dives, and makes its living walking among the penguin colonies stealing the krill they regurgitate for their chicks.
It slips between an adult penguin and its chick at the very moment of feeding, buffets the adult and catches the falling food in mid-air: a kleptoparasitic technique it performs with extraordinary precision.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
Habitat & environment: Ice-free rocky coasts of the Antarctic Peninsula and the subantarctic islands of the South Atlantic
Sexual maturity: 3 years
Gestation / incubation: 29 days of incubation
Litter / clutch size: 3 eggs

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chionis_albus