Little duck petrel
| Little duck petrel | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Little duck petrel ( Pachyptila salvini ) |
||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||
|
||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||
| Pachyptila salvini | ||||||||||
| ( Mathews , 1912) |
The lesser duck petrel ( Pachyptila salvini ) is a species of the petrel family . There is a possibility of confusion with other whale birds , especially with the very similar pigeon petrel . There are two subspecies.
The IUCN classifies the little duck petrel as 
(= least concern - not endangered). The world population is estimated to be around 12 million sexually mature individuals.
Appearance
The small duck petrel reaches a body length of 27 to 28 centimeters. The wing length is 17.6 to 21 centimeters and the wingspan is 57 centimeters. The weight is 130 to 210 grams. The small duck petrel is therefore only slightly smaller than the large duck petrel .
The top of the body is pale blue-gray. A dark, conspicuous "M" runs across the two wings. The underside of the body is white, the sides of the chest greyish. A noticeable white stripe runs above the eyes, emphasizing the dark eye stripe. The lower half of the face is whitish. The beak is very broad at the base. It has a gray and bluish color and is significantly smaller and narrower than the great duck petrel.
distribution
The species breeds on sub-Antarctic islands in the south and southwest of the Indian Ocean. There are breeding occurrences on the Prince Edward Islands , Amsterdam Island , St. Paul Island and the Crozet Islands . Outside of the breeding season, the animals live in the open sea in an area that stretches from southern South Africa to New Zealand.
Way of life
The lesser duck petrel mainly eats krill and other small crustaceans, but also squids and fish. The food is obtained by the birds plowing through the water surface with their beak, by filtering with the specially adapted beak or by reading from the water surface.
The species breeds in huge colonies with up to 1 million individuals or more. Like all other whale birds, the lesser duck petrel breed in burrows they have dug themselves. These have a length of 0.93 to 1.35 meters. The actual nesting trough is laid out with leaves and branches. The breeding season begins in October, the species only breeds once a year. Most clutches only have one white-shelled egg. The breeding season is 44 to 55 days, the young birds fledge after 54 to 65 days. Both parent birds take part in the breeding and rearing of the young birds.
Internal system
There are two subspecies:
- P. salvini salvini
- P. salvini macgillivrayi - This subspecies has a wider beak and slightly longer wings than the nominate form . It is occasionally granted species status.
supporting documents
literature
- 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 .
Single receipts
- ^ Shirihai, p. 174.
- ↑ BirdLife Factsheet on the Little Duck Petrel , accessed December 12, 2010
- ^ Shirihai, p. 176.
- ^ Shirihai, p. 174.
Web links
- Pachyptila salvini inthe IUCN 2012 Red List of Threatened Species . Listed by: BirdLife International, 2012. Retrieved November 17, 2012.