What does seabird mean?
A seabird is a bird adapted to life in the ocean or other marine environments. The group includes familiar birds such as gulls and penguins as well as less familiar species such as albatrosses, petrels, and gannets. Seabirds may feed at the surface, dive underwater, or obtain food by plunge-diving from the air. Many spend much of the year at sea and return to coastal cliffs, islands, or other isolated places to breed. Because they often depend on a small number of breeding sites and face threats such as pollution, fishing equipment, and habitat disturbance, seabirds are important indicators of the health of marine ecosystems. The word is particularly common in conservation and ecological writing.
nounA bird that lives or spends much of its time in the ocean or other marine environments. Seabirds include seabirds such as gulls, albatrosses, penguins, and gannets.
- A bird that lives, feeds, or breeds in the ocean or other marine environments.
"The island is an important breeding ground for seabirds that migrate thousands of miles each year."
"Researchers tracked the seabirds as they crossed the open ocean."
"The remote cliffs provide nesting sites for thousands of seabirds."
Use the plural when referring to more than one seabird or to seabirds collectively.
"The storm displaced thousands of seabirds from their usual feeding grounds."
Some seabirds undertake migrations longer than the circumference of the Earth, carrying their remarkable endurance across oceans.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does seabird come from?
The compound seabird combines sea and bird and has been used since the early 19th century. Its sense grew out of the older collective term seafowl, which similarly refers to birds associated with the sea. Many related English compounds, including seabed and seashore, share the Germanic element sea, while marine reflects a separate but conceptually related Latin root meaning “of the sea.”
Related word forms
How seabird is actually used
The term is most often used in ecological, ornithological, and conservation contexts. It can refer to birds that spend substantial time at sea as well as those that come ashore to breed.
Easily confused with seabird
A shorebird is a bird that feeds along the edges of the sea, such as a sandpiper or plover, whereas a seabird generally lives much of its life in marine environments.