Blue Petrel
Halobaena caerulea
Rather small, attractively patterned petrel of cold subantarctic waters; not seen from mainland. Sometimes accompanies ships, especially near breeding islands and with groups of similar-sized and superficially similar prions. Blue Petrel told from all prion species by dark cap, half collar, and bold white tail tip. Also note differences in flight pattern; often a bit stronger and banks higher in strong winds.
Identification
The blue petrel's plumage is predominantly blue-grey, with a dark "M" extending across the upperwing from wingtip to wingtip. It has a prominent black cap and white cheeks. It is white below apart from dark patches at the side of the neck. The square tail has a white tip. It has a slender black bill. It is 26–32 cm (10–13 in) in length, has a wing span of 62–71 cm (24–28 in) and weighs approximate 200 g (7.1 oz).
Taxonomy
The blue petrel was first described in 1777 by the German naturalist Georg Forster in his book A Voyage Round the World. He had accompanied James Cook on Cook's second voyage to the Pacific. Forster did not give the blue petrel a binomial name, but when the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin updated Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae in 1789 he included a brief description of the bird, coined the binomial name Procellaria caerulea and cited Forster's book. The blue petrel is now the only species placed in the genus Halobaena that was introduced for the blue petrel in 1856 by French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte. The name Halobaena combines the Ancient Greek hals, halos meaning "sea" with bainō meaning "to tread". The specific epithet caerulea is from Latin caeruleus meaning "blue". The word "petrel" is derived from Saint Peter and the story of his walking on water. This is in reference to the petrel's habit of appearing to run on the water to take off. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.<p>The blue petrel is a member of the order Procellariiformes. It shares certain identifying features with the rest of the order. First, it has nasal passages that attach to the upper bill called naricorns. The bills of Procellariiformes are unique in that they are split into between 7 and 9 horny plates. It also produces a stomach oil made up of wax esters and triglycerides that is stored in the proventriculus. This is used against predators as well as an energy rich food source for chicks and for the adults during their long flights. Finally, it also has a salt gland that is situated above the nasal passage and helps desalinate its body, due to the high amount of ocean water it drinks. It excretes a high saline solution from their nose.
- Scientific name
- Halobaena caerulea
- Authority
- (Gmelin, JF, 1789)
- Order
- Procellariiformes
- Family
- Procellariidae
- Genus
- Halobaena
Range and habitat
The blue petrel inhabits the southern oceans ranging as far north as South Africa, Australia and portions of South America. They mostly only breed in a narrow latitudinal band from 47° to 56° S on either side of the Antarctic Polar Front. Nesting on subantarctic islands, such as the Diego Ramírez Islands, the Crozet Islands, Kerguelen Islands, Macquarie Island, South Georgia, Prince Edward Island.<p>In 2014 a breeding colony was discovered on Gough Island (40° S, 10° W), central South Atlantic Ocean, more than 700 km north of its known and usual breeding range. Breeding here appears to take place later than at colonies farther south, so although the discovery is recent it does not necessarily represent a recent range extension.
- Breeding range
- SO : islands of subantarctic Atlantic and Indian oceans mostly s of Antarctic Convergence from Diego Ramirez (s of Tierra del Fuego) and Cape Horn (s South America) to Macquarie (far se of Australia)
- Non-breeding range
- forages to Antarctic waters; disperses to waters of s South America and s Australia
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
Migration pattern: Complete migrants.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
White-headed Petrel
Pterodroma lessonii
A large gadfly petrel with a pale white head and a distinctive dark eye-patch. Back is pale gray with darker outer wings, creating an “M” shape on the back. Look for stout black bill and pinkish-colored feet. Breed on Antipodes and Auckland Islands in the New Zealand region and also on subantarctic Indian Ocean and Macquarie Islands. Forages between the subantarctic and Antarctic convergence zones. Three similar species: Soft-plumaged Petrel is smaller with gray-brown head and band on upper breast; Gray Petrel is larger with a smaller, darker head, a pale green bill, and a long neck; and pale morph Kermadec Petrel is smaller, lacks an eye patch, has darker upperparts, and shows white patches under the wing.
Bolle's Pigeon
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Bahama Yellowthroat
Geothlypis rostrata
A largish, slow-moving warbler that inhabits thick vegetation from marshes to pine woodlands with dense thatch-palm undergrowth. Rather similar to Common Yellowthroat, but larger and more robust with a proportionately heavier bill. Males are entirely yellow below unlike Common Yellowthroats of eastern North America. The black mask of the Bahama Yellowthroat does not narrow towards the bill as it typically does in the Common. On the Andros Islands and New Providence, the crown is gray, unlike Common. Similarly, female Bahama Yellowthroats are more extensive yellow below but often have some gray on the lower belly. Songs and calls resemble those of Common, but the “tchuck” note lacks vibrato.
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