Fairy petrel
| Fairy petrel | ||||||||||
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Fairy petrel ( Pachyptila turtur ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||
| Pachyptila turtur | ||||||||||
| ( Kuhl , 1820) |
The fairy prion ( Pachyptila turtur ) is a deep-sea bird from the family of the petrels .
features
With a body length of up to 28 centimeters and a wingspan of 55-60 centimeters, the fairy petrel is a rather small petrel. It weighs between 88 and 175 grams. The plumage is gray on top with black wing markings and black tail tip. The underside is colored white. With its weak legs, the bird has an awkward, crawling gait on land.
Occurrence
The fairy petrel spends most of its life in the open sea. Breeding colonies are located on the Chatham Islands , the Snare Islands , the Antipodes Islands , on the Falkland Islands belonging Beauchene Iceland , the Prince Edward Islands , the Crozet Islands , islands of Bass Strait and the Macquarie .
behavior
The fairy petrel lives in flocks and at night hunts for microorganisms on the surface of the water, which it filters out of the water with the help of small plates in its beak. He also follows fishing boats in search of waste.
Reproduction
The fairy petrel breeds in large colonies on islands and on the coasts of the southern hemisphere . The female lays the eggs in burrows that she digs on grassy cliff tops or between rocks. The clutch is incubated for about 55 days; the young birds were fed by their parents for another 50 days.
Fae petrels, especially the chicks, often fall prey to rats and domestic cats. The biggest enemies, however, are the skuas .
supporting documents
literature
- Colin Harrison & Alan Greensmith: Birds. Dorling Kindersly Limited, London 1993,2000, ISBN 3-8310-0785-3
- Bryan Richard: Birds. Parragon, Bath, ISBN 1-4054-5506-3
- Hadoram Shirihai: A Complete Guide to Antarctic Wildlife - The Birds and Marine Mammals of the Antarctic Continent and Southern Ocean , Alula Press, Degerby 2002, ISBN 951-98947-0-5
- Robin and Anne Woods: Atlas of Breeding Birds of the Falkland Islands , Anthony Nelson, Shorpshire 1997, ISBN 0904614-60-3
Web links
- Photo of a fairy petrel flying
- Videos, photos and sound recordings of Pachyptila turtur in the Internet Bird Collection
- Pachyptila turtur in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2012. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2012. Accessed November 17, 2012th