Common Diving Petrel
Encyclopedia
The Common Diving Petrel (Pelecanoides urinatrix), also known as the Smaller Diving-Petrel or simply the Diving-Petrel, is a diving-petrel, one of four very similar auk
-like small petrel
s of the southern oceans. It is native to South Africa and islands of the southern Indian Ocean
, islands and islets off New Zealand
and south-eastern Australian islands.
Johann Friedrich Gmelin
described the Common Diving Petrel in 1789. Its specific name urinatrix is derived from the Latin
urinator "diver". Alternate common names include: Falkland/Berard's Diving petrel (berard); Kerguelen/Subantarctic Diving petrel (exsul); Tristan Diving petrel (remaining subspecies), Puffinure plongeur (in French), Lummensturmvogel (in German), and Potoyunco Común (in Spanish).
There are six subspecies, which vary in body measurements, particularly bill size:
is black above and dull white below and it has a large black bill. The wings have thin white strips. The face and neck can be more brown than black. The legs are blue. Unless seen very close, it is almost indistinguishable from the South Georgia Diving Petrel. The Common petrel has brown inner web primary feathers, whereas the South Georgia petrel has light inner web feathering. Common petrels have smaller and narrower bills than the South Georgia petrel. Another difference is that the South Georgia Diving Petrel has a posterior black line down the tarsi. There are also slight size differences.
s 35 and 55 degrees south, mostly around islands. While the population is decreasing, it is not believed to be rapid enough to be of concern. While 1.5 m (4.9 ft) nests are usually built on vegetated slopes, they are occasionally built on flatland.
s. They are known to forage at night on vertically migrating plankton. Feeding is mostly done in the ocean near the shore, but sometimes in the deeper pelagic zone
during non-breeding season, which is only 2 months of the year. The mating habits are not well documented, although pairs form monogamous
relationships. Breeding colonies are large and there is about one nest per 1 square metres (10.8 sq ft). The nest is a burrow around 50 cm long with a chamber at the bottom which may or may not be lined with dried grass. Females lay a single white egg, which measures 38 x 29 mm, and is incubated for 53–55 days. The young are brooded for 10–15 days and fledgling occurs at 45–59 days. Both parents take care of the young, which are grey-grown when hatched. The life expectancy is 6.5 years.
Auk
An auk is a bird of the family Alcidae in the order Charadriiformes. Auks are superficially similar to penguins due to their black-and-white colours, their upright posture and some of their habits...
-like small petrel
Petrel
Petrels are tube-nosed seabirds in the bird order Procellariiformes. The common name does not indicate relationship beyond that point, as "petrels" occur in three of the four families within that group...
s of the southern oceans. It is native to South Africa and islands of the southern Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
, islands and islets off 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...
and south-eastern Australian islands.
Taxonomy and systematics
The German naturalistNatural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
Johann Friedrich Gmelin
Johann Friedrich Gmelin
Johann Friedrich Gmelin was a German naturalist, botanist, entomologist, herpetologist and malacologist.- Education :Johann Friedrich Gmelin was born as the eldest son of Philipp Friedrich Gmelin in 1748 in Tübingen...
described the Common Diving Petrel in 1789. Its specific name urinatrix is derived from the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
urinator "diver". Alternate common names include: Falkland/Berard's Diving petrel (berard); Kerguelen/Subantarctic Diving petrel (exsul); Tristan Diving petrel (remaining subspecies), Puffinure plongeur (in French), Lummensturmvogel (in German), and Potoyunco Común (in Spanish).
There are six subspecies, which vary in body measurements, particularly bill size:
- P. u. urinatrix (J. F. Gmelin, 1789) AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, North IslandNorth IslandThe North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...
(New ZealandNew ZealandNew 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...
) - P. u. chathamensis MurphyRobert Cushman MurphyRobert Cushman Murphy was an American ornithologist and former Lamont curator of birds for the American Museum of Natural History....
& Harper, 1916 Stewart Island, Snares Islands, Chatham IslandsChatham IslandsThe 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...
(New Zealand) - P. u. exsul SalvinOsbert SalvinOsbert Salvin FRS was an English naturalist, best known for co-authoring Biologia Centrali-Americana with Frederick DuCane Godman. This was a 52 volume encyclopedia on the natural history of Central America....
, 1896 South Georgia, subantarctic islands of the Indian OceanIndian OceanThe Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
, Auckland IslandsAuckland IslandsThe Auckland Islands are an archipelago of the New Zealand Sub-Antarctic Islands and include Auckland Island, Adams Island, Enderby Island, Disappointment Island, Ewing Island, Rose Island, Dundas Island and Green Island, with a combined area of...
, Antipodes Island, Campbell IslandCampbell IslandCampbell Island may refer to:* Campbell Island, Torres Strait, Queensland, Australia* Campbell Island , Canada* Campbell Island, New Zealand* Campbell Island, North Carolina, USA... - P. u. dacunhae Nicoll, 1906 Tristan da CunhaTristan da CunhaTristan 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...
and Gough IslandGough IslandGough 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... - P. u. berard (GaimardJoseph Paul GaimardJoseph Paul Gaimard was a French naval surgeon and naturalist.Along with Jean René Constant Quoy he served as naturalist on the ships L'Uranie under Louis de Freycinet 1817-1820, and L'Astrolabe under Jules Dumont d'Urville 1826-1829...
, 1823) Falkland IslandsFalkland IslandsThe Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland... - P. u. coppingeri MathewsGregory MathewsGregory Macalister Mathews CBE was an Australian amateur ornithologist.Mathews made his fortune in mining shares, and moved to England around 1900....
, 1912 uncertain, probably southern ChileChileChile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
Description
The Common Diving Petrel is a small, plump petrel, 200 to 250 mm (7.9 to 9.8 in) in length and weighing around 86 to 186 g (3 to 6.6 oz). The plumagePlumage
Plumage refers both to the layer of feathers that cover a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage vary between species and subspecies and can also vary between different age classes, sexes, and season. Within species there can also be a...
is black above and dull white below and it has a large black bill. The wings have thin white strips. The face and neck can be more brown than black. The legs are blue. Unless seen very close, it is almost indistinguishable from the South Georgia Diving Petrel. The Common petrel has brown inner web primary feathers, whereas the South Georgia petrel has light inner web feathering. Common petrels have smaller and narrower bills than the South Georgia petrel. Another difference is that the South Georgia Diving Petrel has a posterior black line down the tarsi. There are also slight size differences.
Distribution and habitat
The Common Diving Petrel is found between latitudeLatitude
In geography, the latitude of a location on the Earth is the angular distance of that location south or north of the Equator. The latitude is an angle, and is usually measured in degrees . The equator has a latitude of 0°, the North pole has a latitude of 90° north , and the South pole has a...
s 35 and 55 degrees south, mostly around islands. While the population is decreasing, it is not believed to be rapid enough to be of concern. While 1.5 m (4.9 ft) nests are usually built on vegetated slopes, they are occasionally built on flatland.
Behaviour
The Common Diving Petrel feeds on the continental shelf during the breeding season, its movements during the non-breeding season are poorly known and whether it disperses more widely is not known. Like other members of their family they catch prey by wing-propelled diving, and are capable of diving to 60 m (196.9 ft). The diet of this species is dominated by crustaceanCrustacean
Crustaceans form a very large group of arthropods, usually treated as a subphylum, which includes such familiar animals as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles. The 50,000 described species range in size from Stygotantulus stocki at , to the Japanese spider crab with a leg span...
s. They are known to forage at night on vertically migrating plankton. Feeding is mostly done in the ocean near the shore, but sometimes in the deeper pelagic zone
Pelagic zone
Any water in a sea or lake that is not close to the bottom or near to the shore can be said to be in the pelagic zone. The word pelagic comes from the Greek πέλαγος or pélagos, which means "open sea". The pelagic zone can be thought of in terms of an imaginary cylinder or water column that goes...
during non-breeding season, which is only 2 months of the year. The mating habits are not well documented, although pairs form monogamous
Monogamy
Monogamy /Gr. μονός+γάμος - one+marriage/ a form of marriage in which an individual has only one spouse at any one time. In current usage monogamy often refers to having one sexual partner irrespective of marriage or reproduction...
relationships. Breeding colonies are large and there is about one nest per 1 square metres (10.8 sq ft). The nest is a burrow around 50 cm long with a chamber at the bottom which may or may not be lined with dried grass. Females lay a single white egg, which measures 38 x 29 mm, and is incubated for 53–55 days. The young are brooded for 10–15 days and fledgling occurs at 45–59 days. Both parents take care of the young, which are grey-grown when hatched. The life expectancy is 6.5 years.
External links
- Pelecanoides urinatrix at Animal Diversity Web
- NZ Seabirds gallery