Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
In summer, flat, open places around the coast are utilized by colossal numbers of
ground-nesting arctic terns , small, white birds with narrow wings, trailing tails, black
caps and bright red beaks. It's interesting to watch the activity in a tern colony, but bear
in mind that the birds relentlessly attack anything that threatens their eggs or chicks.
Skuas are heavily built, brown birds with nasty tempers and a piratic lifestyle - they
chase and harass weaker seabirds into dropping their catches. Like terns, they also nest
on the ground in vast colonies across the southeastern coastal sandurs , and are equally
defensive of their territory.
Iceland's equivalent to penguins are the similar-looking auks , a family that includes
guillemot (murre), razorbill and pu n . Like penguins, these hunt fish, live in huge
seaside colonies, and have black and white plumage. Unlike penguins, however, they
can also fly. Auks' beaks are distinctively specialized: long and pointed in guillemots;
mid-length and broad in razorbills; and colourfully striped, sail-shaped in puffins - all
aids to their specific fishing techniques. The best place to see puffins is on Heimaey in
the Westman Islands - for more on them see p.138 - but you'll find other auks
anywhere around Iceland where there are suitable nesting cliffs. One exception is the
Arctic-dwelling little auk , or dovekie, now seen only rarely on Grímsey, Iceland's
northernmost outpost.
 
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