Black-bellied sandpiper
| Black-bellied sandpiper | ||||||||||
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Black-bellied sea creeper ( Fregetta tropica ) |
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| Fregetta tropica | ||||||||||
| ( Gould , 1844) |
The black-bellied sea creeper ( Fregetta tropica ) is a species from the southern petrel family. The species occurs only in the south of the southern hemisphere and is circumpolar.
The IUCN classifies the black-bellied sea creeper as not endangered ( least concern ), as the range is very large and so far only a very gradual decline in population has been observed. The global population is estimated by the IUCN at 500,000 sexually mature individuals.
Appearance
The black-bellied sea creeper reaches a body length of up to 20 centimeters and is one of the medium-sized petrels. The wing length is 15.4 to 18.3 centimeters and the wingspan is 45 to 36 centimeters. Black-bellied sandpipers weigh between 43 and 63 grams. The physique is very compact overall. The females tend to be slightly larger than the males and have both slightly longer wings and a slightly longer tail.
The head, the neck and the top of the body, the neck and the front chest and the tail are black-brown. The abdomen, on the other hand, is white, while the abdomen has dark plumage. The size of the white markings on the belly varies from person to person. The beak and legs are black, in flying black-bellied sea creepers the feet protrude well beyond the tail. Young birds are feathered similar to the adult birds. The flight of the black-bellied sea creepers is erratically zigzag, often touching the surface of the water with their feet.
It can be confused with the white-bellied sea creeper, which belongs to the same genus . In this species, however, the feet protrude less than the tail in flight.
distribution
The black-bellied sandpiper breeds in South Georgia, the South Orkney Islands, the South Shetland Islands, Bouvet Island , the Prince Edward Islands , to the east of the Crozet Islands , the Kerguelen, the Auckland Islands , the Bounty Islands and the Antipodes. There may also be a small breeding population on the more remote islands of the Falkland Islands . Outside of the breeding season, they can be seen off the coasts of Brazil, West Africa, the Bay of Bengal , off the coast of Australia, in the Coral Sea , the coast of the Solomon Islands and southern Polynesia.
Way of life
The black-bellied sandpiper eats plankton that swims on or on the surface of the water, as well as small fish and crustaceans. He looks for food mostly during the night and very rarely follows ships. It can often be seen in small groups on the high seas. In the vicinity of the breeding colonies, the swarms are somewhat larger.
The black-bellied sea creeper is basically a monogamous species that enters into a pair bond for several years. It only visits the country during the night and behaves territorially in the immediate vicinity of its breeding site. Black-bellied sandpipers breed on scree slopes where they use small hollows between the broken rocks. Occasionally they also use brood tubes that can be up to fifty centimeters long. The clutch consists of a single, white-shelled egg that has small spots on the wider end. The breeding season falls between December and February. The breeding season is 35 to 44 days. The fledglings are fledged between 65 and 71 days. Both parent birds are equally involved in the breeding and rearing of the young bird.
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
- Robin and Anne Woods: Atlas of Breeding Birds of the Falkland Islands , Anthony Nelson, Shorpshire 1997, ISBN 0904614-60-3
Single receipts
- ↑ BirdLife factsheet on the black-bellied sea creeper , accessed December 13, 2010
- ^ Shirihai, p. 188
- ^ Shirihai, p. 188
- ↑ Wood, p. 60
- ^ Shirihai, p. 188
Web link
- Fregetta tropica inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013.1. Listed by: BirdLife International, 2012. Retrieved October 9, 2013.