Mascarene Petrel
Pseudobulweria aterrima
An entirely dark petrel that usually has a cross-like shape in flight. Note the large, square head, the thick bill, and the long rear. Critically endangered; nests on cliffs and crevices on the island of Reunion and feeds in the surrounding ocean. The vocalization is an eerie scream, given at night around breeding sites. Separation from several similar species is tricky. Most similar to Great-winged Petrel, and distinguished only by subtle differences, including the heavier head and bill, longer neck and tail, more rounded wing, and less explosive flight. Also similar to Jouanin’s Petrel, but identified by larger size, longer wings that are held straighter, and shorter rear. Separated from Wedge-tailed Shearwater by the much heavier bill, and from dark-morph Trindade Petrel by the lack of a silver flash in the underwing.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Pseudobulweria aterrima
- Authority
- (Bonaparte, 1857)
- Order
- Procellariiformes
- Family
- Procellariidae
- Genus
- Pseudobulweria
Range and habitat
- Breeding range
- IO : montane Réunion (w Mascarenes; formerly also Rodrigues)
- Non-breeding range
- to Seychelles, Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and Timor Sea (n of w Australia)
- Migration
- unknown
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
White-throated Piping-Guan
Pipile grayi
Large forest guan found in far southeastern Peru, Bolivia, southwestern Brazil, and northern Paraguay, often along rivers. Plumage is mostly black with a white face, crown, nape, and wing patch. It has a bare patch of skin on the throat that may be light blue or white. On older birds this skin patch ends in a wormlike wattle that dangles below the neck. Formerly treated as a subspecies of Blue-throated Piping-Guan; it can be distinguished by the pure white (not buff-streaked) crown and nape, paler blue or white throat patch, and the wormlike wattle (on adults). In some areas, including the Pantanal, individuals with blue and red throat patches can be found; these are likely hybrids with Red-throated Piping-Guan. Mostly arboreal, but sometimes descends to the ground to feed or drink. Song, often given at dawn or dusk, is a rising series of clear whistles. Occasionally rattles its wings loudly in flight.
Rufescent Imperial-Pigeon
Ducula chalconota
A fairly large pigeon of montane forest interior. Green rump, pale orange chest, deep rufous belly and black band in the tail. Forages for fruit, singly or in pairs in the upper or mid-canopy. Similar to Purple-tailed Imperial-Pigeon but Rufescent occurs at higher elevations and has more extensive gray on the sides of the neck. Papuan Mountain-Pigeon more likely to co-occur but Rufescent lacks the white chest and has green rather than grey back. Not very vocal. Call a mournful downslurred “wooo”.
Southern Rockhopper Penguin
Eudyptes chrysocome
The smallest of the crested penguins. Note the thin yellow eyebrows that, once past the eyes, flare out toward the rear of the head. The species consists of two subspecies, the Eastern and Western Rockhopper Penguins. The Western Rockhopper Penguin breeds on offshore islands off southern Chile and Argentina and on the Falkland Islands, while the Eastern Rockhopper Penguin breeds on various subantarctic islands around New Zealand and the southern Indian Ocean. The Eastern has even eyebrows with pink skin at the base of the bill; the Western has black skin at the base of the bill, with an uneven eyebrow shape. Vagrants occasionally reach the Snares Islands. Distinguished from Snares Penguin by thinner eyebrow and smaller bill, and from Moseley’s Rockhopper Penguin by shorter, less flowing crest.
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