Petrels and Shearwaters - Distribution, Life History, Adaptations, Conservation - Food
species dark birds giant
Petrels and shearwaters are wide-ranging oceanic birds with a characteristic tubenose and other specialized features that equip them well for a life spent mostly at sea. Found throughout the world, these long-lived colonial nesting seabirds include some 79 species in four families, all in the Order Procelliformes. These seabirds show a great range in body size, from the giant petrel with a 6 ft (2 m) wing span to the robin-sized diving petrel. However, they are all fairly uniform in color, either all dark, or dark and light. The sexes are externally alike. While several species are globally endangered and a number of others quite rare, a majority are numerous and thriving.
Some shearwaters and petrels dive to catch fish while other species feed on the surface of the ocean where they pick up crustaceans, macroplankton, fish, squid, and even garbage from ships. Giant petrels eat the young and eggs of other birds, and one may find a variety of Procelliformes feasting on the remains of a dead whale or seal.
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Breeding in these seabirds occurs when an individual reaches sexual maturity, usually between three and seven years of age. After an elaborate courtship and mating, a single white egg is laid, usually in a burrow or crevice, although some of the larger members of this group lay eggs on bare ground. Adult birds show long term fidelity to their mate and to their nest site. Incubation time varies fro…
Birds that spend most of their life flying over vast, windy stretches of ocean must have a variety of ways for dealing with the stresses and demands of such an existence, and petrels and shearwaters are remarkable in their adaptations. Most species have long narrow wings designed for gliding and soaring, while some of the smaller diving petrels have short stubby wings that work well in the underwa…
The introduction of non-native mammals, such as rats, pigs, dogs, and cats onto islands used by breeding seabirds has led to the large scale decimation of entire colonies. The dark-rumped petrel, for example, is now restricted to small remnant colonies on just four islands in the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador, and less than four islands in Hawaii. Other colonies were wiped out by exotic mammalian p…
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