- White-faced Storm-petrel
Taxobox
name = White-faced Storm-petrel
status = LC
status_system = IUCN3.1
regnum =Animal ia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Aves
ordo =Procellariiformes
familia =Hydrobatidae
genus = "Pelagodroma"
genus_authority = Reichenbach, 1853
species = "P. marina"
binomial = "Pelagodroma marina"
binomial_authority = Latham, 1790The White-faced Storm-petrel, "Pelagodroma marina" also known as White-faced Petrel is a small
seabird of thestorm-petrel family. It is the only member of monotypicgenus , "Pelagodroma".The White-faced Storm-petrel breeds on remote islands in the south Atlantic, such as
Tristan da Cunha and alsoAustralia andNew Zealand . There are north Atlantic colonies on theCape Verde Islands ,Canary Islands andSavage Islands . It nests in colonies close to the sea in rock crevices and lays a single white egg. It spends the rest of the year at sea.The White-faced Storm-petrel is strictly pelagic outside the breeding season, and this, together with its often-remote breeding sites, makes this petrel a difficult bird to see from land. Only in severe storms might this species be pushed into headlands. There have been a handful of western
Europe records fromFrance ,Great Britain andThe Netherlands .This
storm-petrel is strictly nocturnal at the breeding sites to avoid predation bygull s andskua s, and will even avoid coming to land on clear moonlit nights. Like most petrels, its walking ability is limited to a short shuffle to the burrow.The White-faced Storm-petrel is 19-21 cm in length witha 41-44 cm wingspan. It has a pale brown to grey back, rump and wings with black flight
feather s. It is white below, unlike other north Atlantic petrels, and has a white face with a black eye mask like aphalarope . Its plumage makes it one of the easier petrels to identify at sea.It has a direct gliding flight and will patter on the water surface as it picks
plankton ic food items from the ocean surface. It is highly gregarious, but does not follow ships.Widespread throughout its large range, the White-faced Storm-petrel is evaluated as Least Concern on the
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.References
* Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
External links
* [http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=3972&m=0 BirdLife Species Factsheet]
* [http://www.redlist.org/search/details.php?species=49716 IUCN Red List]
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