| White-faced Storm-petrel |
Article Index for White-faced |
Information AboutWhite-faced Storm-petrel |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT WHITE-FACED STORM-PETREL | |
| storm-petrels | |
| oceanitinae | |
| genera of birds | |
| birds of indonesia | |
| birds of western australia | |
| birds of new zealand | |
The White-faced Storm-petrel, or '''White-faced Petrel''', ''Pelagodroma marina'', is a small Seabird of the Storm-petrel family. It is the only member of its Genus , '''''Pelagodroma''''' ( Reichenbach , 1853 ). It breeds on remote islands in the south Atlantic , such as Tristan Da Cunha and also Australia and New Zealand . There are north Atlantic colonies on the Cape Verde Islands , Canary Islands and Savage Islands . It nests in colonies close to the sea in rock crevices and lays a single white Egg . It spends the rest of the year at sea. It is strictly pelagic outside the breeding season, and this, together with its often-remote breeding sites, makes this petrel a difficult bird to see from land. Only in severe storms might this species be pushed into headlands.There have been a handful of western Europe records from France , Great Britain and The Netherlands . This Storm-petrel is strictly nocturnal at the breeding sites to avoid predation by Gull s and Skua s, and will even avoid coming to land on clear moonlit nights. Like most petrels, its walking ability is limited to a short shuffle to the burrow. The White-faced Storm-petrel is 19-21 cm in length witha 41-44 cm wingspan. It has a pale brown to grey back, rump and wings with black flight Feather s. It is white below, unlike other north Atlantic petrels, and has a white face with a black eye mask like a Phalarope . Its plumage makes it one of the easier petrels to identify at sea. It has a direct gliding flight and will patter on the water surface as it picks Plankton ic food items from the ocean surface. It is highly gregarious, but does not follow ships. |
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