Wilson's storm petrel
| Wilson's storm petrel | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Procellariiformes |
| Family: | Oceanitidae |
| Genus: | Oceanites |
| Species: | O. oceanicus
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| Binomial name | |
| Oceanites oceanicus (Kuhl, 1820)
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| Distribution range (blue) | |
Wilson's storm petrel (Oceanites oceanicus), also known as Wilson's petrel, is a small
Taxonomy
Originally described in the genus Procellaria it has been placed under the genus Oceanites. Two or three subspecies are recognized and one population maorianus from New Zealand may be extinct. The nominate population breeds from Cape Horn to the Kerguelen Islands while exasperatus breeds along the Antarctic coast in the South Shetland and other islands. The population from Tierra del Fuego was described as chilensis (=wollastoni, magellanicus) but this is considered a nomen nudum although some authors have reinstated it, noting that it can be distinguished by white mottling on the belly.[6][7]
The name
Description
Wilson's storm petrel is a small bird, 16–18.5 cm (6.3–7.3 in) in length with a 38–42 cm (15–16.5 in) wingspan. It is slightly larger than the European storm petrel and is essentially dark brown in all plumages, except for the white rump and flanks. The feet extend just beyond the square ended tail in flight. The European storm petrel has a very distinct whitish lining to the underwing and a nearly all dark upperwing. Wilson's storm petrel has a diffuse pale band along the upper wing coverts and lacks the distinctive white underwing lining.[9] The webbing between the toes is yellow with black spots in pre-breeding age individuals.[10][11]
Distribution and habitat
This species breeds on the
It is strictly
Behaviour and ecology
Wilson's storm petrel has a more direct gliding flight than other small petrels, and like most others it flies low over the seas surface and has the habit of pattering on the water surface as it picks
At 40 g on average, it is the smallest warm-blooded animal that breeds in the Antarctic region.[14] It nests in colonies close to the sea in rock crevices or small burrows in soft earth and lays a single white egg. Like most petrels, its walking ability is limited to a short shuffle to the burrow. In the Antarctic, nests may sometimes get snowed over leading to destruction of the nest or chicks. This storm petrel is strictly nocturnal at the breeding sites to avoid predation by larger gulls and skuas, and will even avoid coming to land on clear moonlit nights. Both parents tend the nest and feed the single chick.[15] The chicks call and beg for food, more vigorously when hungry.[16] Chicks remain at nest for about 60 days and are fed on krill, fish and amphipods.[17] Adults have the ability to identify their nest burrows[18] in the dark and their mates by olfactory cues.[19]
Population estimates in Antarctica evaluate the species to have about between 105 and 106 pairs.
References
- ^ . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- ^ "Wilson's Storm-petrel (Oceanites oceanicus) - BirdLife species factsheet". datazone.birdlife.org. 2022. Retrieved 2022-05-28.
- ^ "Oceanites oceanicus — Wilson's Storm-Petrel". Australian Government. Retrieved 2022-05-27.
- ISBN 9780080879239.
- ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
- ^ Dowdall, J.; Enright, S.; Fahy, K.; Gilligan, J.; Lillie, G.; O'Keeffe, M. (2009). "Unidentified storm petrels off Puerto Montt, Chile, in February 2009". Dutch Birding. 31 (4): 218–222.
- ^ Mayr E; G W Cottrell, eds. (1979). Check-list of birds of the World. volume 1 (2nd ed.). Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge Massachusetts. pp. 103–104.
- ^ Littler, F.M. (1910). A Handbook of the Birds of Tasmania and its dependencies. Self published. pp. 157–159.
- ^ Flood, Robert L.; Thomas, Bryan (2007). "Identification of 'black-and-white' storm-petrels of the North Atlantic" (PDF). British Birds. 100 (7): 407–442.
- S2CID 2791681.
- ^ Harrison, Peter (1983). "Identification of white-rumped North Atlantic petrels". British Birds. 76 (4): 161–174.
- ^ Withers, P.C. (1979). "Aerodynamics and hydrodynamics of the 'hovering' flight of Wilson's Storm Petrel" (PDF). J. Exp. Biol. 80: 83–91.
- ^ Croxall, J.P.; North, A.W. (1988). "Fish prey of Wilson's storm petrel Oceanites oceanicus at South Georgia (Antarctica)" (PDF). British Antarctic Survey Bulletin. 78: 37–42.
- S2CID 88376493.
- S2CID 37852156.
- S2CID 53145763.
- .
- PMID 12124375.
- .
- ISSN 0722-4060.
Other sources
- Harrison, Peter (1996). Seabirds of the World. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-01551-1.
- Bull, John; Farrand Jr., John (April 1984). The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds, Eastern Region. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0-394-41405-5.
- Beck, J.R. & Brown, D.W. 1972. The Biology of Wilson's Storm Petrel, Oceanites oceanicus (Kuhl) at Signy Island, South Orkney Islands. British Antarctic Survey Scientific Reports No. 69.
- Bourne, W.R.P. 1983. Letters (The ‘yellow webs’ of Wilson's Storm-petrel). British Birds 76(7): 316–317.
- Bourne, W.R.P. 1987. Parallel variation in the markings of Wilson's and Leach's Storm-petrels. Sea Swallow 36: 64.
- Bourne, W.R.P. 1988. Letters (John Gould and the storm-petrels). British Birds 81(8): 402–403.
- British Ornithologists’ Union 2008. British Ornithologists’ Union Records Committee: 36th Report (November 2007). Ibis 150: 218–220.
- Copestake, P.G. & Croxall, J.P. 1985. Aspects of the breeding biology of Wilson's Storm Petrel Oceanites oceanicus at Bird Island, South Georgia. British Antarctic Survey Bulletin 66: 7-17.
- Croxall, J.P. et al. 1988. Food and feeding ecology of Wilson's storm petrel Oceanites oceanicus at South Georgia. Journal of Zoology 216: 83-102.
- Curtis, W.F. 1988. An example of melanism in Wilson's Storm-petrel. Sea Swallow 37: 63.
- Flood, R.L. 2011. Notes (Wilson's Storm-petrel with white stripes on the underwing). British Birds 104(5): 272–273.
- Gebczynski, A.K. 2003. The food demand in the nest of Wilson's storm petrel. Polish Polar Research 24(2): 127–131.
- Orgeira, J.L. 1997. Nidificacion y habitat del Petrel de Wilson (Oceanites oceanicus) en Punta Cierva, Costa de Danco, peninsula Antarctica [Nesting habitat of Wilson's Petrel (Oceanites oceanicus) at Cierva Point, Danco, Antarctic peninsula]. Ornitologia Neotropical 8: 49–56.
- Orgeira, J.L. 1997. Short communications (An infrared device for finding Wilson's Storm Petrel Oceanites oceanicus nests). Marine Ornithology 25: 75–76.
- Quillefeldt, P. 2002. Seasonal and annual variation in the diet of breeding and non-breeding Wilson's storm-petrel on King George Island, South Shetland Islands. Polar Biology 25: 216–221.
- van den Berg, A.B.; Bosman, Cecilia A. W.; Rozendaal, Frank G. (1982). "Mass movement of Bridled Terns Sterna anaethetus and Wilson's Petrels Oceanites oceanicus off Colombo, Sri Lanka" (PDF). Ardea. 70: 81–82.
- Wasilewski, A. 1986. Ecological aspects of the breeding cycle in the Petrel de Wilson, Oceanites oceanicus (Kuhl), at King George Island (South Shetland Islands, Antarctica). Polish Polar Research 7: 173–216.
External links
- Wilson’s Storm Petrel - The Atlas of Southern African Birds
- Wilson’s Petrel Oceanites oceanicus - British Trust for Ornithology