Fea's petrel

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Fea's Petrel
Feas Petrel From The Crossley ID Guide Eastern Birds.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Procellariiformes
Family: Procellariidae
Genus: Pterodroma
Species:
P. feae
Binomial name
Pterodroma feae
(Salvadori, 1900)
Synonyms
  • Pterodroma mollis feae
  • Oestrelata feae(Salvadori, 1900)

The Fea's petrel (Pterodroma feae) is a small seabird in the gadfly petrel genus, Pterodroma . It was previously considered to be a subspecies of the soft-plumaged petrel (P. mollis), but they are actually not closely related at all. However, P. feae is very closely related to Zino's petrel and Desertas petrel, two other species recently split from P. mollis. The gadfly petrels are named for their speedy weaving flight, as if evading horseflies. The flight action is also reflected in the genus name Pterodroma, from Ancient Greek pteron, "wing" and dromos, " runner". [2] This species is named after the Italian zoologist Leonardo Fea (1852-1903). [3]

Contents

Taxonomy and systematics

The first known recording of the "soft-plumaged petrel" appears to have been in October 1768 off the coast of West Africa during Captain Cook's first voyage. While no description was published at the time, a drawing of the specimen produced by Sydney Parkinson can be recognised as the form breeding on the Cape Verde Islands. [4] This specimen was later described as a distinct species by the Italian zoologist Tommaso Salvadori in 1900 with the binomial name Oestrelata feae, named after the Italian ornithologist Leonardo Fea and was later reclassified again as Pterodroma feae. [5] [6]

The gadfly petrels in the genus Pterodroma are seabirds of temperate and tropical oceans. Many are little-known and poorly studied, and their often similar appearance has meant that the taxonomy of the group has been rather fluid. [7] The forms breeding in Macaronesia on Madeira, Bugio in the Desertas Islands, and in the Cape Verde archipelago were long considered to be subspecies of the southern hemisphere soft-plumaged petrel P. mollis, but differences in size, vocalisations, breeding behaviour and mitochondrial DNA analysis showed that the northern birds are not closely related to P. mollis, [8] and that the Bermuda petrel or cahow may be the closest relative of the Macaronesian birds. [7] Sangster recommended establishing Zino's petrel on Madeira and Fea's petrel on the Desertas and Cape Verde as full species, [8] and the species split was accepted by the Association of European Rarities Committees (AERC) in 2003. [9] More recently, some authorities have further split Fea's petrel, separating the Desertas Islands breeding birds from those in the Cape Verde archipelago. [10]

Sangster estimated that the two Macaronesian species diverged at the end of the Early Pleistocene, 850,000 years ago, [8] although the methodology used to establish this time scale has subsequently been questioned. [11] An analysis of feather lice from Fea's petrels Pterodroma feae deserti from Bugio Island and Zino's petrels from the Madeiran mainland showed that there were marked differences between the two seabirds in terms of the parasites they carried, suggesting that they have long been isolated, since lice can normally only be transferred through physical contact in the nest. The species on Zino's petrel are most similar to those of the Bermuda petrel, whereas Fea's petrel's lice are like those of Caribbean and Pacific Pterodromas. This suggests that despite the close physical proximity of the two species of gadfly petrel found in the Madeiran archipelago, they may have arisen from separate colonisations of mainland Madeira and, later, the Desertas Islands. [12]

Description

This long-winged petrel is 33–36 cm in length with an 86–94 cm wingspan. It has a grey back and wings, with a dark "W" marking across the wings. The undersides of the wings are dark and the belly is white. It has a fast impetuous flight. It picks planktonic food items from the ocean surface. This species is very similar to the Zino's petrel, but is larger and has a thicker black bill.

As all three species in the Pterodroma feae/madeira/desertae complex were once believed to be subspecies of a single species: Pterodroma mollis, the extreme difficulty in telling them apart is easily understood. A summary of data from a morphological study sheds light on the issue: [13]

In terms of ratios:

Egg of Fea's petrel (coll.MHNT) Pterodroma feae MHNT ZOO 2010 11 42 Ilha do Fago - Cap-vert - Naurois.jpg
Egg of Fea's petrel
(coll.MHNT)

Distribution and habitat

It breeds on four islands of Cape Verde in the eastern Atlantic Ocean: Fogo, Santo Antão, São Nicolau and Santiago. [1] [14]

Behaviour and ecology

Breeding

This seabird is strictly nocturnal at the breeding sites to avoid predation by gulls. Like most petrels, its walking ability is limited to a short shuffle to the burrow. This endangered species nests in colonies in burrows in spring and autumn. It lays a single white egg.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gadfly petrel</span> Genus of birds

The gadfly petrels or Pterodroma are a genus of about 35 species of petrels, part of the seabird order Procellariiformes. The gadfly petrels are named for their speedy weaving flight, as if evading gadflies (horseflies). The flight action is also reflected in the name Pterodroma, from Ancient Greek pteron, "wing" and dromos, "runner".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zino's petrel</span> Small seabird in the gadfly petrel genus

Zino's petrel or the freira, is a species of small seabird in the gadfly petrel genus, endemic to the island of Madeira. This long-winged petrel has a grey back and wings, with a dark "W" marking across the wings, and a grey upper tail. The undersides of the wings are blackish apart from a triangle of white at the front edge near the body, and the belly is white with grey flanks. It is very similar in appearance to the slightly larger Fea's petrel, and separating these two Macaronesian species at sea is very challenging. It was formerly considered to be a subspecies of the soft-plumaged petrel, P. mollis, but they are not closely related, and Zino's was raised to the status of a species because of differences in morphology, calls, breeding behaviour and mitochondrial DNA. It is Europe's most endangered seabird, with breeding areas restricted to a few ledges high in the central mountains of Madeira.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leonardo Fea</span> Italian painter

Leonardo Fea was an Italian explorer, zoologist, painter, and naturalist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Desertas Islands</span> Small Portuguese archipelago

The Desertas Islands are a small archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, part of the larger Portuguese Madeira Archipelago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madeira firecrest</span> Very small passerine bird in the kinglet family from Madeira

The Madeira firecrest, Madeira kinglet, or Madeiracrest is a very small passerine bird endemic to the island of Madeira. It is a member of the kinglet family. Before it was recognised as a separate species in 2003, it was classified as a subspecies of the common firecrest. It differs in appearance and vocalisations from its relative, and genetic analysis has confirmed it as a different species. The Madeiran bird has green upperparts, whitish underparts and two white wingbars, and a distinctive head pattern with a black eye stripe, short white supercilium, and a crest that is mainly orange in the male and yellow in the female.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Alexander Zino</span> Portuguese-born British ornithologist (1916–2004)

Paul Alexander Zino was a British businessman and ornithologist after whom Zino's petrel is named.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bonin petrel</span> Species of bird

The Bonin petrel or nunulu is a seabird in the family Procellariidae. It is a small gadfly petrel that is found in the northwest Pacific Ocean. Its secretive habits, remote breeding colonies and limited range have resulted in few studies and many aspects of the species' biology are poorly known.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soft-plumaged petrel</span> Species of bird

The soft-plumaged petrel is a species of seabird in the family Procellariidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pycroft's petrel</span> Species of bird

Pycroft's petrel is a species of seabird in the petrel and shearwater family Procellariidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Indian Ocean Islands tundra</span> Ecoregion of several subantarctic islands in the southern Indian Ocean

The Southern Indian Ocean Islands tundra is a tundra ecoregion that includes several subantarctic islands in the southern Indian Ocean.

The Desertas petrel is a small seabird in the gadfly petrel genus which breeds on Bugio Island in the Desertas off Madeira. The gadfly petrels in the genus Pterodroma are seabirds of temperate and tropical oceans. Many are little-known, and their often similar appearance have caused the taxonomy of the group to be rather fluid. Although the systematics on this species has not yet been definitively established, provisionally some authorities have split the Desertas petrel, separating the Desertas breeding birds from those in the Cape Verde archipelago, while others consider it a subspecies of the Fea's petrel. The species is named after its breeding grounds, which are pronounced "Dez-ERT-ass".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madeira evergreen forests</span> Ecological zone of Madeira and nearby islands

The Madeira evergreen forests is a laurissilva ecoregion of southwestern Europe. It covers the archipelago of Madeira and some nearby islands in the Atlantic Ocean. Laurel forest, known as laurissilva, once covered the islands. Over centuries the laurel forests were mostly cleared. Madeira's remaining forests are now protected.

References

  1. 1 2 BirdLife International (2018). "Pterodroma feae". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2018: e.T22728011A132655668. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22728011A132655668.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ↑ Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names . London: Christopher Helm. p.  322. ISBN   978-1-4081-2501-4.
  3. ↑ Bo Beolens; Michael Watkins; Michael Grayson (2014). The Eponym Dictionary of Birds. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 417–8. ISBN   978-1-4729-0574-1.
  4. ↑ Bourne, W.R.P. (1983). "The Soft-plumaged Petrel, the Gon-gon and the Freira, Pterodroma mollis, P. feae and P. madeira". Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. 103: 52–58. ISSN   0007-1595.
  5. ↑ Salvadori, Tommaso (1900). "On Oestrelata mollis (Gould) and the allied species living at Madeira and the Cape Verde Islands". Ibis. 7th series. 6: 298–303 [302].
  6. ↑ Harrop, Andrew H.J. (January 2004). "The 'soft-plumaged petrel' complex: a review of the literature on taxonomy, identification and distribution" (PDF). British Birds. 97 (1): 6–15.
  7. 1 2 Onley, Derek; Scofield, Paul (2007). Albatrosses, Petrels and Shearwaters of the World (Helm Field Guides). London: Christopher Helm. p. 17. ISBN   0-7136-4332-3.
  8. 1 2 3 Sangster, George; Knox, Alan G; Helbig, Andreas J; Parkin, David T (2002). "Taxonomic recommendations for European birds". Ibis . 144 (1): 153–159. doi:10.1046/j.0019-1019.2001.00026.x.
  9. ↑ AERC Taxonomy Committee (2003). AERC TAC's Taxonomic Recommendations (PDF). Association of European Rarities Committees. p. 22.
  10. ↑ Shirihai, Hadoram; Bretagnolle, Vincent; Zino, Francis. "Identification of Fea's, Desertas and Zino's Petrels at sea". Birding World. 23 (6): 239–275.
  11. ↑ Rheindt, Frank E; Austin, Jeremy J (2005). "Major analytical and conceptual shortcomings in a recent taxonomic revision of the Procellariiformes - A reply to Penhallurick and Wink (2004)" (PDF). Emu . 105 (2): 181–186. doi:10.1071/MU04039. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 March 2007.
  12. ↑ Zonfrillo, Bernard (1993). "Relationships of the Pterodroma petrels from the Madeira archipelago inferred from their feather lice" (PDF). Boletim do Museu Municipal do Funchal. Supplement 2: 325–321.
  13. ↑ "Systematics of the Soft-plumaged Petrel Pterodroma mollis (Procellariidae): new insight from the study of vocalizations". Ibis. 137: 207–218. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.1995.tb03241.x.
  14. ↑ BirdLife International, Species Factsheet Pterodroma feae, accessed 17 January 2019
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