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Halobaena caerulea

Halobaena caerulea (*)

Cladus: Eukaryota
Supergroup: Opisthokonta
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Classis: Aves
Subclassis: Carinatae
Infraclassis: Neornithes
Parvclassis: Neognathae
Ordo: Procellariiformes
Familia: Procellariidae
Genus: Halobaena
Species: Halobaena caerulea

Name

Halobaena caerulea (Gmelin, 1789)

Vernacular names
Deutsch: Blausturmvogel
English: Blue Petrel
Español: Halobaena caerulea
Français: Pétrel bleu
日本語: アオミズナギドリ
‪Norsk (bokmål)‬: Blåpetrell
Suomi: Siniliitäjä
Svenska: Blåpetrell

Reference

Systema Naturae 1 pt2 p.560

The Blue Petrel, Halobaena caerulea, is a small seabird in the family Procellariidae. This small petrel is the only member of the genus Halobaena but is closely allied to the prions.[4]

Taxonomy

The Blue Petrel is the only bird from the genus Halobaena, and a member of the Procellariiformes order. They share certain identifying features. First, they have nasal passages that attach to the upper bill called naricorns. Although the nostrils on the Albatross are on the sides of the bill. The bills of Procellariiformes are also unique in that they are split into between 7 and 9 horny plates. They produce 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.[5] Finally, they also have a salt gland that is situated above the nasal passage and helps desalinate their bodies, due to the high amount of ocean water that they imbibe. It excretes a high saline solution from their nose.[6]

Etymology

The word Petrel is derived from St. Peter and the story of his walking on water. This is in reference to the Petrels habit of appearing to run on the water to take off.[7]

Description

The Blue Petrel's plumage is white underneath and grey on its upper parts, with an "M" banding across its top, which is similar to the prion's. It also has a white-tipped tail. Its bill is smaller than prions.[4]

Behaviour

Feeding

They feed predominantly on krill, as well as other crustaceans, fish, and squid. They can dive up to at 6 m (20 ft).[4]

Breeding

The Blue Petrel like all members of the Procellariiformes are colonial, and have large colonies. Their nest is a burrow, and they lay one egg. Both parents incubate the egg for approximately 50 day and the chick fledges after 55 days. Skua are the main danger for their eggs and chicks.

Range and habitat

They inhabit the southern oceans ranging as far north as South Africa, Australia and portions of South America. They will nest on Antarctic islands, such as Marion Island, the Crozet Islands, Kerguelen Islands, Macquarie Island, South Georgia, Prince Edward Island.[4]

Conservation

The Blue Petrel has a very large range and an estimate population of 3,000,000 adult birds and thus it is rated as Least Concern, by the IUCN.[1]

Footnotes

1. ^ a b c BirdLife International (2009)
2. ^ Brands, S. (2008)
3. ^ a b c Peters, James Lee (1931)
4. ^ a b c d ZipCode Zoo (16 Jul 2009)
5. ^ Double, M. C. (2003)
6. ^ Ehrlich, Paul R. (1988)
7. ^ Gotch, A. T. (1995)

References

* BirdLife International (2009). "Blue Petrel Halobaena caerulea - BirdLife Species Factsheet". Data Zone. http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=3913&m=1. Retrieved 22 Jul 2009.
* Brands, Sheila (14 Aug 2008). "Systema Naturae 2000 / Classification - Genus Halobaena-". Project: The Taxonomicon. http://www.taxonomy.nl/Main/Classification/51497.htm. Retrieved 22 Jul 2009.
* Brooke, M. (2004). "Procellariidae". Albatrosses And Petrels Across The World. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-850125-0.
* Double, M. C. (2003). "Procellariiformes (Tubenosed Seabirds)". In Hutchins, Michael; Jackson, Jerome A.; Bock, Walter J. et al.. Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia. 8 Birds I Tinamous and Ratites to Hoatzins. Joseph E. Trumpey, Chief Scientific Illustrator (2 ed.). Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group. pp. 107–111. ISBN 0 7876 5784 0.
* Ehrlich, Paul R.; Dobkin, David, S.; Wheye, Darryl (1988). The Birders Handbook (First ed.). New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. pp. 29–31. ISBN 0 671 65989 8.
* Gotch, A. F. (1995) [1979]. "Albatrosses, Fulmars, Shearwaters, and Petrels". Latin Names Explained A Guide to the Scientific Classifications of Reptiles, Birds & Mammals. New York, NY: Facts on File. pp. 191–192. ISBN 0 8160 3377 3.
* Peters, James Lee (1931) Checklist of Birds of the World 1 Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press
* ZipCode Zoo (19 Jun 2009). "Halobaena (Genus)". BayScience Foundation. http://zipcodezoo.com/Key/Animalia/Halobaena_Genus.asp. Retrieved 22 Jul 2009.

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