Magellanic Diving-Petrel

Identificazione

This short, compact petrel ranges from 19-22 cm (7.4-8.7 in) in length, and weighs anywhere between 5-6 oz (males are typically heavier than females). The head of P. magellani is black, bordered by a contrasting white that leads into a distinctive white crescent extending up towards the back of the neck . The rest of the body follows a strong penguin-like black above, white below scheme, with some white streaks around the sides of the nape and on the scapulars. They also have some blackish-grey mottling on the flank region and sometimes on the sides of the breast. The upperwing is mostly black, with white edges on the secondaries; the underwing coverts are white (with some fragments of black on the "arm"), while the underside of the flight feathers are light grey. The tail feathers (rectrices) are mostly black above (but may appear brown in some lighting) with nearly invisible white tips, and mainly white to a very light grey below. The bill is mostly black, as well as the upward-facing nostrils (which are unique only to the diving-petrels), the legs and feet are a light slate-blue to light blue with black-brownish webs, and black claws, and the eyes are a very dark brown color. It only overlaps with the Peruvian diving-petrel, P. garnotii, but the two are distinguishable by the visible white crescent of the Magellanic vs. the nearly all-black head of the Peruvian.

Tassonomia

The Magellanic diving-petrel was formally described in 1912 by the Australian born ornithologist Gregory Mathews as a subspecies of the Peruvian diving-petrel with the trinomial name Pelecanoides garnotii magellani. It is now considered as a separate species with the binomial name Pelecanoides magellani. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek pelekan meaning "pelican" and "-oidēs" meaning "resembling". The specific epithet magellani refers to the Straits of Magellan. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.<p>According to HBW, this species is more closely related to the South Georgian and Peruvian diving-petrels. The diving-petrels bear strong resemblances to the smaller auk species (i.e. the Dovekie or Little Auk), though they are not closely related. This likeness is a prime example of convergent evolution, since the two have similar niches in their ecosystem, therefore they have evolved similar traits.

Nome scientifico

Pelecanoides magellani

Autorità

(Mathews, 1912)

Ordine

Procellariformi

Famiglia

Pelecanoididae

Genere

Pelecanoides

Areale e habitat

The Magellanic diving-petrel breeds on vegetated slopes on coastal and nearshore islands, typically in fjords and channels, in southern Chile, Argentina, and Tierra del Fuego and forages in offshore and inshore waters in the area.

Areale riproduttivo

SA : islets in Chilean fjords to Cape Horn

Areale non riproduttivo

coasts and fjords of Gulf of Ancud (sc Chile), off Cape Horn and n to coastal Santa Cruz (se Argentina)

Migrazione

Specie stanziale

Comportamento

Comportamento migratorio: Specie stanziale.

Conservazione

Tendenza della popolazione: in diminuzione.

Tendenza della popolazione

in diminuzione