
Scoter Duck On A Beach Killed By An Oil Spill

by Science Photo Library
Title
Scoter Duck On A Beach Killed By An Oil Spill
Artist
Science Photo Library
Medium
Photograph - Photograph
Description
Oiled bird. Dead scoter duck, Melanitta sp., lying in a pool of oil. The brown colour of the oil on the bird suggests that it comes from a slick that was treated with detergent to disperse it. Sea birds are killed by oil spills at sea as their feathers become contaminated with the pollutant. They are poisoned by the oil because they ingest it whilst cleaning their feathers with their beaks. The detergents used to disperse the slicks are also poisonous. This bird was contaminated by a spill of about 70,000 tonnes of crude oil from the Sea Empress off the coast of Milford Haven, Wales, in February 1996.
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September 15th, 2018
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