Procellaria
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P. cinerea |
Procellaria is a genus of southern ocean long-winged seabirds
All five species are named as 'petrel', although they were thought to be more closely related to the shearwaters and current research places them closer to the prions.
They are large shearwaters, found in the temperate and cold waters of the southern oceans. They are pelagic outside the breeding season. These tubenose birds fly with stiff wings, and use a “shearing” flight technique to move across wave fronts with the minimum of active flight.
They visit their nesting islands and coastal cliffs only to breed. They nest in burrows and lay a single white egg.
The Procellaria shearwaters feed on fish, squid and similar oceanic food. Some will follow fishing boats to take scraps.
[edit] List of species
- Grey Petrel, P. cinerea
- White-chinned Petrel, P. aequinoctialis
- Spectacled Petrel, P. conspicillata
- Black Petrel, P. parkinsoni
- Westland Petrel, P. westlandica
In addition, there is one undescribed prehistoric species known from fossils.
[edit] References
- Harrison, Peter (1996). Seabirds of the World. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-01551-1.
