White-necked petrel
| White-necked petrel | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Procellariiformes |
| Family: | Procellariidae |
| Genus: | Pterodroma |
| Species: | P. cervicalis
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| Binomial name | |
| Pterodroma cervicalis (Salvin, 1891)
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| Synonyms | |
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The white-necked petrel (Pterodroma cervicalis), also known as the white-naped petrel, is a species of
IUCN rating as vulnerable
is for the "combined" species.
Description
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This species resembles the Vanuatu petrel, P. occulta, but is slightly larger at 43 cm (17 in) in length, 95–105 cm (37–41 in) in wing span and 380–545 g (13.4–19.2 oz) in weight. It has a black cap, white rear neck, dark grey back, wings and tail, and a darker rump. The underparts are white with dark bases on the primary feathers. The upperparts of worn birds become darker.
It is very difficult to separate the white-necked petrel from the Vanuatu petrel at sea.
Ecology
This is a solitary pelagic
Pacific
. It has an effortless graceful flight with few wing beats, and does not follow ships. It feeds on the wing, picking fish and squid from near the surface.
Its natural
habitat loss
on its breeding grounds.
References
- . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- Onley and Scofield, Albatrosses, Petrels and Shearwaters of the World (Helm 2007) ISBN 978-0-7136-4332-9