Mascarene Petrel
| Mascarene Petrel | ||||||||||
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Mascarene petrel ( Pseudobulweria aterrima ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||
| Pseudobulweria aterrima | ||||||||||
| ( Bonaparte , 1857) |
The Mascarene Petrel ( Pseudobulweria aterrima ) is a rare species of bird in the petrel family . It breeds on the Mascarene island of Réunion .
features
The Mascarene Petrel reaches a size of 36 centimeters. The plumage is predominantly dark chocolate brown. The chin and upper throat are lighter. The underside of the hand and arm wings is more silvery. The beak is black. The legs are flesh-colored, the feet are black. A flesh-colored spot can be seen in the middle of the webbed feet. His call consists of whistling sounds.
Way of life
Little is known about the way of life of the Mascarene Petrel. All breeding caves were discovered on cliffs in heather vegetation. The Mascarene Petrel breeds in the southern summer. The breeding season begins around December and the young can fledge between February and March.
Existence and endangerment
For a long time, the Mascarene Petrel was only known from four museum specimens from the 19th century, until sightings of this species were seen again in the waters south of Réunion from 1964. In 1970, 1973 and January 1995, three dead petrels were found. Since then five breeding sites, with a population of 9 to 10 breeding pairs, have been discovered on Réunion. A total of 26 birds were sighted over the ocean between 1978 and 1995, but no observations have been made more than 500 km from Réunion. As with the Barau petrel ( Pterodroma baraui ), which is also found on Réunion, the main threat comes from the pursuit of rats and feral cats. Another threat that affects the inexperienced young birds is light-induced. The lighting of street lamps and lighting systems on sports fields is the reason why young birds are seriously injured in accidents and then die. The actual population size is unknown. BirdLife International estimates the population roughly at between 90 and 800 specimens and classifies the species in the category "critically endangered". In December 2013, the Israeli ornithologist Hadoram Shirihai managed to take a photo of a pregnant female about to lay eggs at sea in the waters of Réunion for the first time. An active breeding colony was first discovered in November 2016.
literature
- Josep del Hoyo et al .: Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Ostrich to Ducks. Lynx Edicions, 1992, ISBN 84-87334-10-5 .
- Erik Hirschfeld (2008): The Rare Birds Yearbook 2009 , MagDig Media Ltd., Shrewsbury ISBN 978-0-9552607-5-9
- Warren B. King on the behalf of the International council for bird preservation (ICBP) and the Survival service commission of IUCN (1978-1979): Red Data Book 2: Aves (2nd edition). IUCN, Morges, Switzerland. ISBN 0-87474-583-7
- Brooke, M. (2004). Procellariidae. Albatrosses and Petrels Across the World . Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. ISBN 0-19-850125-0 .
- Martin Riethmuller, Thomas Ghestemme, François-Xavier Couzi & Marc Salamolard: Complements de connaissance sur le Petrel Noir PDF, online
Web links
- BirdLife species factsheet
- photo
- Pseudobulweria aterrima inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017.1. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2016. Retrieved June 15, 2017.