Fork-tailed storm petrel

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Fork-tailed storm petrel
Oceanodroma furcata 1.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Procellariiformes
Family: Hydrobatidae
Genus: Hydrobates
Species:
H. furcatus
Binomial name
Hydrobates furcatus
(Gmelin, JF, 1789)
Oceanodroma furcata map.svg

The fork-tailed storm petrel (Hydrobates furcatus) is a small seabird of the storm petrel family Hydrobatidae. It is the second-most abundant and widespread storm petrel (after Leach's storm petrel) and is the only bird in its family that is bluish-grey in colour. [2]

Contents

The fork-tailed storm petrel is pelagic, spending up to 8 months in the northern Pacific Ocean. They only return to land to breed, where they nest in a single colony. Their nests can be found in a rock crevice or small burrow, where a single egg is laid. Their breeding range is along the coast of the northern Pacific Ocean, extending from northern California to northeast Asia. [2]

They mainly feed on planktonic crustaceans, small fish, and squid, but also consume offal. Similarly to other storm petrels, they forage by picking food off the surface of the water while in flight. [2]

Taxonomy

The fork-tailed storm petrel was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae . He placed it with the petrels in the genus Procellaria and coined the binomial name Procellaria furcata. [3] Gmelin based his description on the "fork-tailed petrel" that had been described in 1785 in separate publications by the English ornithologist John Latham and the Welsh naturalist Thomas Pennant. [4] [5] It is now one of 18 species placed in the genus Hydrobates that was erected in 1822 by the German zoologist Friedrich Boie. [6] [7] The genus name combines the Ancient Greek hudro- meaning "water-" with batēs meaning "walker". The specific epithet furcatus is Latin meaning "forked". [8]

Two subspecies are recognized: [7]

The major differences between the two subspecies are slight size and plumage differences, where southern populations appear somewhat smaller and darker. [9] Southern populations also begin and end their breeding season earlier than their northern counterparts. [10] However, no molecular genetic analysis has been conducted to discern the two subspecies. [2]

The species was formerly assigned to the genus Oceanodroma before that genus was synonymized with Hydrobates . [11]

Description

The forked tail is more easily seen from above. Fork-tailed Storm Petrel, St. Lazaria Island, Alaska.jpg
The forked tail is more easily seen from above.

The fork-tailed storm petrel is small seabird that is 20 cm in length with a wingspan of 46 cm. [2] Its foraging behaviour resembles other storm petrels, where it flies with short, stiff wingbeats close to the surface of the water. [2]

Despite its name, the forked tail in this bird is not always visible. The distinguishing feature of fork-tailed storm petrels is their overall bluish-gray plumage. They generally have a paler underside, which contrasts the darker colours under their wings. They also have a dark gray forehead, a black ear patch, and a small, black bill. [2] Other storm petrels are significantly darker, such as the similar looking ashy storm petrel. [2] However, fork-tailed storm petrels from southern populations are somewhat darker than those in the north. [9]

Males and females are generally very similar in colour and size. [12] Juveniles also resemble adults with the exception of having a less noticeable notch in their tails. [2]

They are generally silent and only call when entering their breeding colony at night. Their most common call is a 3- to 5-note, raspy "ana-ana-ana", heard from both sexes. This is especially intense during courtship, where their calls are accompanied by elaborate aerial displays. [12] A higher-pitched, single note call is typically emitted by males, and it is used to locate females in noisy colonies and to maintain the pair bond. [13]

Distribution and habitat

The fork-tailed storm petrel frequents the open ocean and only returns to land to breed. Fork tail.jpg
The fork-tailed storm petrel frequents the open ocean and only returns to land to breed.

The range of the fork-tailed storm petrel is estimated to cover 22,400,000 km2 with over 6,000,000 individuals occurring globally, making it the second-most widespread and abundant storm petrel. [14] During the breeding season, the fork-tailed storm petrel form dense colonies on islands throughout northern California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, Alaska, and northeast Asia off the Kamchatka Peninsula. [2] Most of their population is concentrated in Alaska, notably in the Bering Sea near the Aleutian Islands. Their southernmost colony is on Little River Rock in Humboldt County, with a population of 200 individuals. [10] It was reported in July 1939 that fork-tailed storm petrels were breeding on the Flannan Isles, Na h-Eileanan Flannach, which are about 35 km west of the northern tip of the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. [15]

Their nesting habitat varies, ranging from bare rock to forests. They typically build their nests under rock crevices or roots, or burrow into soft ground with low-growing vegetation. [2]

As they frequent the open ocean, little is known about fork-tailed storm petrels outside of the breeding season. They have been frequently sighted off the Californian coast, making them the most northerly distributed storm petrel during the winter. [16] Sparse sightings also indicate that they forage as far south as Hawaii. [17]

Behaviour

Food and feeding

Like other storm petrels, the fork-tailed storm petrel mainly feeds on crustaceans and fish near the surface of the ocean, including amphipods, myctophids, shallow-water fish (such as greenling and sablefish), copepods, decapods, and squid. [18] They are also extremely opportunistic and can be seen scavenging on fatty tissue of dead marine mammals [19] and also trailing behind fishing boats. [2]

Fork-tailed storm petrels have a well-developed olfactory system and heavily rely on odour to scout for food, so often they are the first birds to arrive at a pungent food source. When at the source, these birds seize their prey by fluttering across the water surface [20] and may occasionally dive to depths of 0.6 m. [2]

Like other Procellariiformes, the fork-tailed storm petrel produces stomach oil from its digested food and stores it in its proventriculus, a section of the bird's digestive system. This oil permits these birds to go for a long time without food, but also allows them to transport nutrient-rich food back to their chicks from distant sources. [21]

Breeding

The fork-tailed storm petrel incubates a single egg in its burrow. The aquatic birds of Great Britain and Ireland (1906) (14568897740).jpg
The fork-tailed storm petrel incubates a single egg in its burrow.

Like other species, fork-tailed storm petrels spend most of their time out at sea and only return to land to breed around late March to early April. To avoid predation and harassment by gulls, these birds only enter the colony at night and depart before sunrise. [12]

The fork-tailed storm petrel builds its nest in rock crevices or small burrows on isolated islands. [12] Courtship consists of vocalizations and aerial displays, often lasting for several weeks. [13] Once established, pairs will remain together for the rest of the breeding season and if they are successful, continually use the same nest year after year. [12] Females will lay a single white egg directly on the floor of the burrow, [22] and both parents will incubate it for around 50 days. [12] Once the egg hatches, the adult keeps the chick warm using its brood patch for the first five days. [23] Once able to thermoregulate for itself, the parents then leave the chick, only returning to feed it one every one to four nights. [13] After two months of slow growth, the petrel chick will finally fledge and leave the burrow. [12] [24]

A fork-tailed storm petrel chick Fork-tailed storm petrel chick (5699395374).jpg
A fork-tailed storm petrel chick

Living in areas with severe climatic conditions, fork-tailed storm petrels have many adaptations to ensure breeding success. Eggs can be left unattended up to 7 days and still successfully hatch, [25] whereas chick growth rates can be adjusted to being faster or slower depending on food supply, rather at a constant rate like many other birds. [26]

Interspecific interactions

The fork-tailed storm petrel is often the sole prey item for predators early in the breeding season because they return to these remote islands long before any other seabirds. [2] These birds comprise a significant part of the diet of river otters, [27] gulls, [12] and raptors. [28] Further, introduced predators such as foxes, martens, and raccoons have a significant impact on breeding populations. [29] To defend themselves, fork-tailed storm petrels can eject their stomach oil at an incoming threat. [2]

Fork-tailed storm petrels generally coexist peacefully with other seabirds, where they can be seen sharing breeding habitat with tufted puffins. [12] In some cases, aggression can be observed, where they are known to steal food from Leach's storm petrels. [30]

Human impacts and conservation

Being widespread and abundant, the fork-tailed storm petrel is not threatened with extinction. However, humans impact their life history in many ways.

As a species that feeds on surface material and follows ships, this storm petrel often ingests oil and plastic with their food items. [2] Surprisingly, the fork-tailed storm petrel is relatively unaffected by the toxicity of oil, as their natural diet contains substances that are very chemically similar. [31] Plastics also do not severely affect the birds because they can be regurgitated after ingestion. [32]

In contrast, being a top marine predator, fork-tailed storm petrels are susceptible to bioaccumulation. High lead concentrations have been found in the bones of petrels, [33] and DDT can cause eggshells to become dangerously thin. [34]

The greatest threats that face fork-tailed storm petrels today are global climate change and introduced species. An increased severity of storms makes foraging more dangerous, decreasing the chances that an adult will return to the colony. [18] The introduction of mammals also adversely affect storm petrels, where raccoons and river otters prey upon nests, [27] and rabbits increase soil erosion and compromise the structural integrity of burrows. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Procellariiformes</span> Order of birds

Procellariiformes is an order of seabirds that comprises four families: the albatrosses, the petrels and shearwaters, and two families of storm petrels. Formerly called Tubinares and still called tubenoses in English, procellariiforms are often referred to collectively as the petrels, a term that has been applied to all members of the order, or more commonly all the families except the albatrosses. They are almost exclusively pelagic, and have a cosmopolitan distribution across the world's oceans, with the highest diversity being around New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seabird</span> Birds that have adapted to life within the marine environment

Seabirds are birds that are 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. The first seabirds evolved in the Cretaceous period, and modern seabird families emerged in the Paleogene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern storm petrel</span> Genus and family of birds

Northern storm petrels are seabirds in the genus Hydrobates in the family Hydrobatidae, part of the order Procellariiformes. The family was once lumped with the similar austral storm petrels in the combined storm petrels, but have been split, as they were not closely related. These smallest of seabirds feed on planktonic crustaceans and small fish picked from the surface, typically while hovering. Their flight is fluttering and sometimes bat-like.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Procellariidae</span> Family of seabirds which includes petrels, shearweters and prions

The family Procellariidae is a group of seabirds that comprises the fulmarine petrels, the gadfly petrels, the diving petrels, the prions, and the shearwaters. This family is part of the bird order Procellariiformes, which also includes the albatrosses and the storm petrels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European storm petrel</span> Migratory seabird in the family Hydrobatidae

The European storm petrel, also known as British storm petrel, or just storm petrel, is a species of seabird in the northern storm petrel family, Hydrobatidae. The small, square-tailed bird is entirely black except for a broad, white rump and a white band on the under wings, and it has a fluttering, bat-like flight. The large majority of the population breeds on islands off the coasts of Europe, with the greatest numbers in the Faroe Islands, United Kingdom, Ireland, and Iceland. The Mediterranean population is a separate subspecies, but is inseparable at sea from its Atlantic relatives; its strongholds are Filfla Island (Malta), Sicily, and the Balearic Islands.

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

Leach's storm petrel or Leach's petrel is a small seabird of the tubenose order. It is named after the British zoologist William Elford Leach. The scientific name is derived from Ancient Greek. Hydrobates is from hydōr "water", and batēs "walker", and leucorhous is from leukos, "white" and orrhos, "rump". It was formerly defined in the genus Oceanodroma before that genus was synonymized with Hydrobates.

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

Swinhoe's storm petrel or Swinhoe's petrel is a small, all-brown seabird of the storm petrel family Hydrobatidae.

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

The band-rumped storm petrel, Madeiran storm petrel, or Harcourt's storm petrel is of the storm petrel family Hydrobatidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magellanic penguin</span> Species of bird

The Magellanic penguin is a South American penguin, breeding in coastal Patagonia, including Argentina, Chile, and the Falkland Islands, with some migrating to Brazil and Uruguay, where they are occasionally seen as far north as Espirito Santo. Vagrants have been found in El Salvador, the Avian Island in Antarctica, Australia, and New Zealand. It is the most numerous of the Spheniscus banded penguins. Its nearest relatives are the African penguin, the Humboldt penguin, and the Galápagos penguins. The Magellanic penguin was named after Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, who spotted the birds in 1520. The species is listed as being of Least Concern by the IUCN.

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

The ashy storm petrel is a small, scarce seabird of the storm petrel family Hydrobatidae. It breeds colonially on islands off the coasts of California and Mexico, and is one of six species of storm petrel that live and feed in the rich California Current system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wedge-tailed shearwater</span> Species of bird

The wedge-tailed shearwater is a medium-large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. It is one of the shearwater species that is sometimes referred to as a muttonbird, like the sooty shearwater of New Zealand and the short-tailed shearwater of Australia. It is found throughout the tropical Pacific and Indian Oceans, roughly between latitudes 35°N and 35°S. It breeds on the islands off Japan, on the Islas Revillagigedo, the Hawaiian Islands, the Seychelles, the Northern Mariana Islands, and off Eastern and Western Australia.

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

The ringed storm petrel, also known as Hornby's storm petrel, is a seabird that ranges in the Humboldt Current off the coasts of South America. The species is a very distinctive member of the storm petrel family, with a dark cap, white face and underparts, forked tail and a black band across the chest. It is relatively common in the seas off Peru, Chile and Ecuador. The species is named after Admiral Sir Phipps Hornby.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swallow-tailed gull</span> The only nocturnal species of seabird in the world

The swallow-tailed gull is an equatorial seabird in the gull family, Laridae. It is the only species in the genus Creagrus, which derives from the Latin Creagra and the Greek kreourgos which means butcher, also from kreas, meat; according to Jobling it would mean "hook for meat" referring to the hooked bill of this species. It was first described by French naturalist and surgeon Adolphe-Simon Neboux in 1846. Its scientific name is originally derived from the Greek word for gull, "Glaros" and via Latin Larus, "gull" and furca "two-tined fork". It spends most of its life flying and hunting over the open ocean. The main breeding location is in the Galápagos Islands, particularly the rocky shores and cliffs of Hood, Tower and Wolf Islands, with lower numbers on most of the other islands. It is more common on the eastern islands where the water is warmer.

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

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

The least storm petrel is a small seabird of the storm petrel family Hydrobatidae. It is 13–15 cm in length, with a wingspan of 32 cm. It is the smallest member of the order Procellariiformes. It was formerly defined in the genus Oceanodroma before that genus was synonymized with Hydrobates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bird colony</span> Large congregation of birds at a particular location

A bird colony is a large congregation of individuals of one or more species of bird that nest or roost in proximity at a particular location. Many kinds of birds are known to congregate in groups of varying size; a congregation of nesting birds is called a breeding colony. Colonial nesting birds include seabirds such as auks and albatrosses; wetland species such as herons; and a few passerines such as weaverbirds, certain blackbirds, and some swallows. A group of birds congregating for rest is called a communal roost. Evidence of colonial nesting has been found in non-neornithine birds (Enantiornithes), in sediments from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of Romania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Markham's storm petrel</span> Species of seabird in Pacific South America

Markham's storm petrel is a species of storm petrel in the family Hydrobatidae. An all-black to sooty brown seabird, Markham's storm petrel is difficult to differentiate from the black storm-petrel in life, and was once described as conspecific with, or biologically identical to, Tristram's storm petrel. Markham's storm petrel inhabits open seas in the Pacific Ocean around Peru, Chile, and Ecuador, but only nests in northern Chile and Peru, with ninety-five percent of all known breeding populations in 2019 found in the Atacama Desert. First described by British ornithologist Osbert Salvin in 1883, the bird was named in honor of Albert Hastings Markham, a naval officer who collected a specimen off Peru.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Austral storm petrel</span> Family of birds

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

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

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