Table 10. Birds of kelp forests and their subhabitat use. 



Surface canopy 



Midwater and bottom 



Seaward fringe 



Elegant tern 

 ( Thalasseus elegans ) 



Heermann's gull 

 ( Larus heermanni ) 



Western gull 

 ( Larus occidentalis ) 



Bonaparte's gull 

 ( Larus Philadelphia ) 



Great blue heron 

 ( Ardea herodias ) 



Snowy egret 

 ( Leucophoyx thula ) 



Willet 

 ( Catoptrophorus 

 semipalmatus T 



Wandering tattler 

 ( Heteroscelus incanum ) 



Northern phalarope 

 ( Lobipes lobatus ) 



Pelagic cormorant 

 ( Phalacrocorax pelagicus ) 



Brandt's cormorant 

 ( Phalacrocorax penicil latus ) 



Horned grebe 

 ( Podiceps auritus ) 



Eared grebe 

 ( Podiceps caspicus ) 



Brown pelican 

 ( Pelecanus occidental is ) 



Common loon 

 ( Gavia immer ) 



Western grebe 

 ( Aechmophorus occidentalis ) 



Brandt's cormorant 

 ( Phalacrocorax penicil latus ) 



Pelagic cormorant 

 ( Phalacrocorax pelagicus ) 



Surf scoter 

 ( Melanitta perspicul lata ) 



White-winged scoter 

 ( Melanitta deglandi ) 



Pigeon guillemot 

 ( Cepphus columba ) 



Common murre 

 ( Uria aalge ) 



( Larus heermanni ) roosting on the kelp 

 forest off Pacific Grove, California. 

 Elegant terns inhabit California waters 

 from July to November (Page et al. 1977). 

 They pick small fishes from the canopy by 

 surface plunging (Angel 1 and Balcomb 

 1982). 



Heermann's gulls, western gulls 

 ( Larus occidentalis , Figure 23), and 

 Bonaparte's gulls (J_. Philadelphia ) 

 scavenge on the surface kelp canopy. On 

 San Nicolas Island in southern California, 

 western gulls pick the large grazing 

 gastropod Norrisia norrisi from giant kelp 

 canopies, and drop the snails on rocky 

 ledges on shore. The impact breaks the 

 thick shell so the gulls can then feed on 

 the meat (Reed pers. comm.). Western 

 gulls are year-round residents of 

 California. Bonaparte's gull overwinters 



in California, and Heermann 

 found in the summer and fall 

 et al. 1977). 



s gull can be 

 seasons (Page 



great blue heron ( Ardea 



and the snowy egret ( Egretta 



winter along coastal California, 



The 

 herodias ) 

 thula ] 



and can often be seen perched on the kelp 

 canopy, frozen in motion, silently 

 stalking prey at the water's surface 

 (Figure 23). Occasional shorebirds such 

 as the wandering tattler ( Heteroscelus 

 incanus ) , and the willet ( Catoptrophorus 

 semipalmatus ) may forage on the surface of 

 kelp forests (Baldridge pers. comm.). 

 Jameson (pers. comm.) suggests that the 

 heron feeds on juvenile rockfish and other 

 small fishes in the canopy, egrets feed on 

 isopods and kelp crabs, and willets on 

 isopods. His observations also suggest 

 that some of these birds may establish 



77 



