Broad-billed Prion
Encyclopedia
The Broad-billed Prion, Pachyptila vittata, is a small seabird
, but the largest Prion
, with grey upperparts plumage, and white underparts. It has many other names that have been used such as Blue-billed Dove-petrel, Broad-billed Dove-petrel, Long-billed Prion, Common Prion, Icebird, and Whalebird.
genus
, and along with the Blue Petrel
makes up the Prions. They in turn are members of the Procellariidae
family
, and the Procellariiformes
order
. The prions are small and typically eat just zooplankton
; however as a member of the Procellariiformes, they share certain identifying features. First, they have nasal passages that attach to the upper bill called naricorns. Although the nostrils on the Prion are on top of the upper 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 ester
s 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, 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.
words pakhus and ptilon. Pakhus means thick or stout and ptilon means a feather. Also from the Greek language, Prion comes from the word priōn meaning a saw, which is in reference to its serrated edges of its bill
.
colors: blue-grey upperparts, white underparts, and the ever present "M" across its back and wings. It also has a black crown
, a dark eye stripe, and a black-tipped tail. Its bill
is also black. The head pattern is more distinct and the tail band is less extensive than that of the similar Fairy Prion
. It has a broad flat bill with comb-like fringes called lamellae. This is a large prion
measuring 25 to 30 cm (9.8 to 11.8 in) long, with a wingspan of 57 to 66 cm (22.4 to 26 in) and weighing on average 160 to 235 g (5.6 to 8.3 oz).
, and fish
. They utilize a technique called hydroplaning, which is where the bird flies with its bill in the water and it skims water in, and then filters the food. They also surface-seize. This prion doesn't follow fishing boats regularly.
in a burrow type nest. Both parents avian incubation
|incubate]] the egg for 50 days, and then spend another 50 days raising the chick. The main predators are skua
s, although on some islands, cats and rats have reduced this prion’s numbers drastically. Colonies disperse from December onwards, although some adults remain in the vicinity of the breeding islands and may visit their burrows in winter.
. Its colonies can be found on Gough Island
, Tristan da Cunha
, South Island
, Chatham Islands
, on the sub-antarctic Antipodes Islands
, and other islands off the coast of New Zealand
.
from the IUCN.
Seabird
Seabirds are birds that have adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same environmental problems and feeding niches have resulted in similar adaptations...
, but the largest Prion
Prion
A prion is an infectious agent composed of protein in a misfolded form. This is in contrast to all other known infectious agents which must contain nucleic acids . The word prion, coined in 1982 by Stanley B. Prusiner, is a portmanteau derived from the words protein and infection...
, with grey upperparts plumage, and white underparts. It has many other names that have been used such as Blue-billed Dove-petrel, Broad-billed Dove-petrel, Long-billed Prion, Common Prion, Icebird, and Whalebird.
Taxonomy
The Broad-billed Prion is a member of the PachyptilaPachyptila
Pachyptila is a genus from the family Procellariidae and the Procellariiformes order. The members of this genus and the Blue Petrel form a sub-group called Prions.-Etymology:...
genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
, and along with the Blue Petrel
Blue Petrel
The Blue Petrel 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.-Taxonomy:...
makes up the Prions. They in turn are members of the Procellariidae
Procellariidae
The family Procellariidae is a group of seabirds that comprises the fulmarine petrels, the gadfly petrels, the prions, and the shearwaters. This family is part of the bird order Procellariiformes , which also includes the albatrosses, the storm-petrels, and the diving petrels.The procellariids are...
family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
, and the Procellariiformes
Procellariiformes
Procellariiformes is an order of seabirds that comprises four families: the albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters, storm petrels, and diving petrels...
order
Order (biology)
In scientific classification used in biology, the order is# a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, family, genus, and species, with order fitting in between class and family...
. The prions are small and typically eat just zooplankton
Zooplankton
Zooplankton are heterotrophic plankton. Plankton are organisms drifting in oceans, seas, and bodies of fresh water. The word "zooplankton" is derived from the Greek zoon , meaning "animal", and , meaning "wanderer" or "drifter"...
; however as a member of the Procellariiformes, they share certain identifying features. First, they have nasal passages that attach to the upper bill called naricorns. Although the nostrils on the Prion are on top of the upper 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 ester
Wax ester
An ester of a fatty acid and a long-chain alcohol. These oils have similar properties as triglycerides, but are indigestible. They are found in some fish such as orange roughy, oilfish, escolar, black oreo, smooth oreo and other deep water fish. They are also present in marine copepods. Wax...
s and triglycerides that is stored in the proventriculus
Proventriculus
The proventriculus is part of the digestive system of birds, invertebrates and insects.-Birds:The proventriculus is a standard part of avian anatomy...
. This is used against predators as well as an energy rich food source for chicks and for the adults during their long flights. 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.
Etymology
Pachyptila, the word, comes from the GreekGreek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
words pakhus and ptilon. Pakhus means thick or stout and ptilon means a feather. Also from the Greek language, Prion comes from the word priōn meaning a saw, which is in reference to its serrated edges of its bill
Beak
The beak, bill or rostrum is an external anatomical structure of birds which is used for eating and for grooming, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food, courtship and feeding young...
.
Description
The Broad-billed Prion has traditional PrionPrion
A prion is an infectious agent composed of protein in a misfolded form. This is in contrast to all other known infectious agents which must contain nucleic acids . The word prion, coined in 1982 by Stanley B. Prusiner, is a portmanteau derived from the words protein and infection...
colors: blue-grey upperparts, white underparts, and the ever present "M" across its back and wings. It also has a black crown
Crown (anatomy)
A crown is the top of the head.The following birds and other animals are said to have a crown on their head:* Cranes** Grey-crowned Crane** Red-crowned Crane** Black-crowned Crane* Crowned eagle* Gray-crowned Rosy Finch* Yellow-crowned Gonolek...
, a dark eye stripe, and a black-tipped tail. Its bill
Beak
The beak, bill or rostrum is an external anatomical structure of birds which is used for eating and for grooming, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food, courtship and feeding young...
is also black. The head pattern is more distinct and the tail band is less extensive than that of the similar Fairy Prion
Fairy Prion
The Fairy Prion is a small seabird with the standard prion plumage of black upperparts and white underneath with an "M" wing marking.-Taxonomy:...
. It has a broad flat bill with comb-like fringes called lamellae. This is a large prion
Prion (bird)
The Prions are small petrels in the genera Pachyptila and Halobaena. They form one of the four groups within the Procellariidae , along with the gadfly petrels, shearwaters and fulmarine petrels....
measuring 25 to 30 cm (9.8 to 11.8 in) long, with a wingspan of 57 to 66 cm (22.4 to 26 in) and weighing on average 160 to 235 g (5.6 to 8.3 oz).
Behaviour
They are a social bird; however their courtship displays happen at night or in their burrows. When they need to defend their nest they are very aggressive with calling, posturing, and neck-biting.Feeding
They are gregarious, and eat crustaceans (copepods, squidSquid
Squid are cephalopods of the order Teuthida, which comprises around 300 species. Like all other cephalopods, squid have a distinct head, bilateral symmetry, a mantle, and arms. Squid, like cuttlefish, have eight arms arranged in pairs and two, usually longer, tentacles...
, and fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
. They utilize a technique called hydroplaning, which is where the bird flies with its bill in the water and it skims water in, and then filters the food. They also surface-seize. This prion doesn't follow fishing boats regularly.
Breeding
Breeding begins on the coastal slopes, lava fields, or cliffs of the breeding islands in July or August, as they lay their single eggEgg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
in a burrow type nest. Both parents avian incubation
Avian incubation
Incubation refers to the process by which certain oviparous animals hatch their eggs, and to the development of the embryo within the egg. The most vital factor of incubation is the constant temperature required for its development over a specific period. Especially in domestic fowl, the act of...
|incubate]] the egg for 50 days, and then spend another 50 days raising the chick. The main predators are skua
Skua
The skuas are a group of seabirds with about seven species forming the family Stercorariidae and the genus Stercorarius. The three smaller skuas are called jaegers in North America....
s, although on some islands, cats and rats have reduced this prion’s numbers drastically. Colonies disperse from December onwards, although some adults remain in the vicinity of the breeding islands and may visit their burrows in winter.
Range and habitat
This species is found throughout oceans and coastal areas in the Southern HemisphereSouthern Hemisphere
The Southern Hemisphere is the part of Earth that lies south of the equator. The word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' or "half sphere"...
. Its colonies can be found on Gough Island
Gough Island
Gough Island , also known historically as Gonçalo Álvares or Diego Alvarez, is a volcanic island in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a dependency of Tristan da Cunha and part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha...
, Tristan da Cunha
Tristan da Cunha
Tristan da Cunha is a remote volcanic group of islands in the south Atlantic Ocean and the main island of that group. It is the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, lying from the nearest land, South Africa, and from South America...
, South Island
South Island
The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...
, Chatham Islands
Chatham Islands
The Chatham Islands are an archipelago and New Zealand territory in the Pacific Ocean consisting of about ten islands within a radius, the largest of which are Chatham Island and Pitt Island. Their name in the indigenous language, Moriori, means Misty Sun...
, on the sub-antarctic Antipodes Islands
Antipodes Islands
The Antipodes Islands are inhospitable volcanic islands to the south of—and territorially part of—New Zealand...
, and other islands off the coast of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
Conservation
This prion has an occurrence range of 10500000 km² (4,054,072.7 sq mi) and an estimate population of 15,000,000. This gets it a Least ConcernLeast Concern
Least Concern is an IUCN category assigned to extant taxon or lower taxa which have been evaluated but do not qualify for any other category. As such they do not qualify as threatened, Near Threatened, or Conservation Dependent...
from the IUCN.