Trindade Petrel
| Trindade Petrel | |
|---|---|
 | |
| dark phase | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Procellariiformes |
| Family: | Procellariidae |
| Genus: | Pterodroma |
| Species: | P. arminjoniana |
| Binomial name | |
| Pterodroma arminjoniana Giglioli & Salvadori, 1869 | |
The Trindade Petrel (Pterodroma arminjoniana) (or Herald Petrel, as it is known in the Americas) is a species of seabird and a member of the gadfly petrels. The bird is 35–39 cm (14–15 in) in size, with an 88–102 cm (35–40 in) wingspan.
The petrel has various color morphs: dark and light, as well as intermediates between the two. There are two separate populations, one occurring in the south Pacific, sometimes seen in Hawaii; the other occurring in the south Atlantic, nesting off Brazil, with regular sightings in the Gulf Stream off the southeastern United States. The little-known Pacific subspecies Pterodroma (arminjoniana) heraldica may be a distinct species (confusingly also called Herald Petrel). It uses oceanic islands and atolls, nesting on cliff ledges, ridges or rocky slopes. On some islands, nesting birds are threatened by feral cats and rats.
Due to ongoing habitat loss and small breeding range, this species is evaluated as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
In May 2007, a Herald Petrel tagged on Raine Island in 1984 was observed off the coast of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean.[citation needed] This greatly increases the known life span and range of the species.
Also it was recently identified as this species, from what was previously an unidentified Pterodroma species, to be breeding on Round Island, 22 kilometers north of Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean.[2]
References
- ↑ BirdLife International (2012). "Pterodroma arminjoniana". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
- ↑ Brown, R. M.; Jordan, W. C. (2009). "Characterization of polymorphic microsatellite loci from Round Island Petrels (Pterodroma arminjoniana) and their utility in other seabird species". Journal of Ornithology 150: 925–929.
- "National Geographic" Field Guide to the Birds of North America ISBN 0-7922-6877-6
- Seabirds, an Identification Guide by Peter Harrison, (1983) ISBN 0-7470-1410-8
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Vol 1, Josep del Hoyo editor, ISBN 84-87334-10-5
- "National Audubon Society" The Sibley Guide to Birds, by David Allen Sibley, ISBN 0-679-45122-6