Solander petrel
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Solander petrel ( Pterodroma solandri ) |
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| Pterodroma solandri | ||||||||||
| ( Gould , 1844) |
The Providence Petrel ( Pterodroma solandri ) is a bird art from the kind of hook Shearwater . It is a medium-sized petrel with a dark gray color that lives in the Pacific.
The IUCN estimates the population at around 100,000 individuals and classifies the species as endangered ( vulnerable ).
The solander petrel is named in honor of the Swedish botanist Daniel Solander .
Appearance
Solander petrels have a wing length between 30 and 32 centimeters, the beak is between 3.0 and 3.7 centimeters long. Except for small differences in size, there is no noticeable gender dimorphism . There are no age or seasonal differences in the plumage.
The top is dark gray. The head is whitish in front and on the throat, whereby numerous individuals also have dark mottling here. The underside of the body and tail is gray-brown. The wings have white triangles on the underside at the base of the hand wings. The bill is less massive than that of the fulmar .
Downy chicks are dark gray with an ash gray underside. In nestlings, the back feathers often have white edges.
Distribution area
Solander petrels now only breed on Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea and on small Phillip Island near Norfolk Island . The breeding occurrences on the Norfolk Island were already extinct towards the end of the 18th century. The migratory area of the species includes the western Pacific. In April and November, the birds can also be found in the waters around the Hawaiian Islands.
food
The diet of the solander petrel consists of cephalopods, crabs and similar animals. He takes the food by swimming.
Reproduction
The solander petrel is a colony breeder that breeds in caves or crevices on slopes up to 700 meters above sea level.
Solander petrels arrive in the breeding area in March. However, the white-shelled egg is usually not laid until June or July. Nestlings are observed from August to October. They fledge in October or November. The breeding success is negatively influenced by a number of animal species such as rats and pigs that have been introduced to the breeding islands. The New Holland owl , introduced to control rats in the 1920s, also hunts solander petrels. The wood rail , which is native to Lord Howe Island, and the big-billed shrike crow are further predators of clutches and young birds of this type. On Philip Eiland, Solander petrels compete with the wedge-tailed shearwater to nest .
Duration
The Solander Petrel was originally very numerous on Norfolk Island, but was exterminated there between 1790 and 1800. Over a million adults and young birds were hunted for food between 1790 and 1793. In 1796 only 15,000 birds lived there, by 1800 the population there was extinct. A natural resettlement on Norfolk Island has not yet occurred, presumably because the predator pressure from the rats and cats introduced there is so great.
The population on Lord Howe Island was estimated at 20,000 breeding pairs in the 1970s, and in 1982 a more accurate count came to 32,000 breeding pairs. It is possible that the first population counts underestimated the number of breeding pairs. However, it is very likely that the elimination of the pigs introduced to the island contributed significantly to a recovery of the population.
The breeding population on Philip's Eiland near Norfolk Island was only discovered in 1985 and at that time was around 20 birds. In 2010 the population was estimated at 10 to 100 breeding pairs. Pigs, goats and rabbits, all three of which had been introduced to this island, were largely removed in the 1980s because they had a negative impact on the island's vegetation.
supporting documents
literature
- VD Il'ičev & VE Flint (eds.): Handbook of birds of the Soviet Union - Volume 1: History of exploration, Gaviiformes, Podicipediformes, Procellariiformes . Aula Verlag, Wiesbaden 1985, ISBN 3-89104-414-3
Single receipts
- ↑ a b c d e IUCN website on Solander Petrel, accessed June 29, 2013
- ↑ Il'ičev & Flint: Handbook of Birds of the Soviet Union - Volume 1: History of exploration, Gaviiformes, Podicipediformes, Procellariiformes . 1985, p. 306
- ↑ Il'ičev & Flint: Handbook of Birds of the Soviet Union - Volume 1: History of exploration, Gaviiformes, Podicipediformes, Procellariiformes . 1985, p. 307
