| Salvin's prion | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Procellariiformes |
| Family: | Procellariidae |
| Genus: | Pachyptila |
| Species: | P. salvini |
| Binomial name | |
| Pachyptila salvini (Mathews, 1912) | |
| Subspecies | |
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Salvin's prion (Pachyptila salvini), also known as the medium-billed prion, is a species of seabird in the petrel family Procellariidae.
Salvin's prion is a member of the genus Pachyptila and of the subgenus Salviprion Mathews, 1943. Along with the blue petrel, they make up the prions. They in turn are members of the family Procellariidae, and the order Procellariiformes. The prions are small and typically eat just zooplankton; [2] 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 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. [3] 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. [4]
The name Pachyptila comes from the Greek 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. [5] The species is named for the British ornithologist Osbert Salvin.
Salvin's prion is a small 29 cm (11 in) petrel with grey and white plumage,[ citation needed ] and a blue bill. [6] Like the broad-billed prion it has lamellae in its bill in order to filter seawater for food.[ citation needed ]
This small prion breeds colonially on a number of subantarctic islands in the southern Indian Ocean. The colonies of medium-billed prions are attended nocturnally in order to avoid predation by skuas. The nests are concealed in burrows usually dug into soil. Nests are attended regularly for several months prior to breeding. A single egg is laid in November or early December, which is incubated for around 50 days. Both parents share the incubation duties and feed the chick once it is hatched. The chicks fledge around 60 days after hatching.[ citation needed ]
The main components of its diet are amphipods and krill, although it will also take fish and squid. In addition to filter feeding, food is obtained by seizing and hydroplaning. [2]
Salvin's prion breeds principally on Île aux Cochons in the Crozet Islands, where four million pairs are thought to breed.[ citation needed ] Other breeding colonies include Prince Edward Island, St Paul Island and Amsterdam Island. At sea they range from South Africa eastwards to New Zealand. [7]
Salvin's prion is not considered threatened with extinction. Although numbers have declined on some islands where rats and feral cats have been introduced,[ citation needed ] the world population is estimated at around 12 million birds. Consequently, they are given a classification of Least Concern. [1] [8]
The prions or whalebirds 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. The name comes from the Greek priōn, meaning "saw", a reference of the serrated edges of the birds' saw-like bill.
Pachyptila is a genus of seabirds in the family Procellariidae and the order Procellariiformes. The members of this genus and the blue petrel form a sub-group called prions. They range throughout the southern hemisphere, often in the much cooler higher latitudes. Three species, the broad-billed prion, the Antarctic prion and the fairy prion, range into the subtropics.
The Chatham albatross, also known as the Chatham mollymawk or Chatham Island mollymawk, is a medium-sized black-and-white albatross which breeds only on The Pyramid, a large rock stack in the Chatham Islands, New Zealand. It is sometimes treated as a subspecies of the shy albatross Thalassarche cauta. It is the smallest of the shy albatross group.
The mollymawks are a group of medium-sized albatrosses that form the genus Thalassarche. The name has sometimes been used for the genus Phoebetria as well, but these are usually called sooty albatrosses. They are restricted to the Southern Hemisphere, where they are the most common of the albatrosses. They were long considered to be in the same genus as the great albatrosses, Diomedea, but a study of their mitochondrial DNA showed that they are a monophyletic taxon related to the sooty albatrosses, and they were placed in their own genus.
Giant petrels form a genus, Macronectes, from the family Procellariidae, which consists of two living and one extinct species. They are the largest birds in this family. The living species are restricted to the Southern Hemisphere, and though their distributions overlap significantly, with both species breeding on the Prince Edward Islands, Crozet Islands, Kerguelen Islands, Macquarie Island, and South Georgia, many southern giant petrels nest farther south, with colonies as far south as Antarctica. Giant petrels are extremely aggressive predators and scavengers, inspiring another common name, the stinker. South Sea whalers used to call them gluttons. They are the only member of their family that is capable of walking on land.
The southern giant petrel, also known as the Antarctic giant petrel, giant fulmar, stinker, and stinkpot, is a large seabird of the southern oceans. Its distribution overlaps broadly with the similar northern giant petrel, though it overall is centered slightly further south. Adults of the two species can be distinguished by the colour of their bill-tip: greenish in the southern and reddish in the northern.
Salvin's albatross or Salvin's mollymawk, is a large seabird that breeds mainly on the Bounty Islands of New Zealand, with scant amounts on islands across the Southern Ocean. A medium-sized mollymawk, it was long considered to be a subspecies of the shy albatross.
The North Pacific albatrosses are large seabirds from the genus Phoebastria in the albatross family. They are the most tropical of the albatrosses, with two species nesting in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, one on sub-tropical islands south of Japan, and one nesting on the equator.
The northern royal albatross or toroa,, is a large seabird in the albatross family. It was split from the closely related southern royal albatross as recently as 1998, though not all scientists support that conclusion and some consider both of them to be subspecies of the royal albatross.
The blue petrel is a small seabird in the shearwater and petrel family, Procellariidae. This small petrel is the only member of the genus Halobaena, but is closely allied to the prions. It is distributed across the Southern Ocean but breeds at a few island sites, all close to the Antarctic Convergence zone.
The Cape petrel, also called the Cape pigeon, pintado petrel, or Cape fulmar, is a common seabird of the Southern Ocean from the family Procellariidae. It is the only member of the genus Daption, and is allied to the fulmarine petrels, and the giant petrels. They are extremely common seabirds with an estimated population of around 2 million.
The southern royal albatross or toroa, is a large seabird from the albatross family. At an average wingspan of above 3 m (9.8 ft), it is one of the two largest species of albatross, together with the wandering albatross. Recent studies indicate that the southern royal albatross may, on average, be somewhat larger than the wandering albatross in mass and have a similar wingspan, although other sources indicate roughly similar size for the two species and the wandering species may have a larger average wingspan in some colonies.
The fairy prion is a small seabird with the standard prion plumage of blue-grey upperparts with a prominent dark "M" marking and white underneath. The sexes are alike. It is a small prion which frequents the low subantarctic and subtropic seas.
The white-chinned petrel also known as the Cape hen and shoemaker, is a large shearwater in the family Procellariidae. It ranges around the Southern Ocean as far north as southern Australia, Peru and Namibia, and breeds colonially on scattered islands. The white-chinned petrel was formerly considered to be conspecific with the spectacled petrel.
The broad-billed prion is a small pelagic seabird in the shearwater and petrel family, Procellariidae. It is the largest prion, with grey upperparts plumage, and white underparts. The sexes are alike. It ranges from the southeast Atlantic to New Zealand mainly near the Antarctic Convergence. In the south Atlantic it breeds on Tristan da Cunha and Gough Island; in the south Pacific it breeds on islands off the south coast of South Island, New Zealand and on the Chatham Islands. 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.
The Antarctic prion also known as the dove prion, or totorore in Māori, is the largest of the prions, a genus of small petrels of the Southern Ocean.
The slender-billed prion or thin-billed prion, is a species of petrel, a seabird in the family Procellariidae. It is found in the southern oceans.
The fulmar prion is a species of seabird in the family Procellariidae, found in the southern oceans.
The grey petrel, also called the brown petrel, pediunker or grey shearwater is a species of seabird in the Procellariidae, or petrel family. It is pelagic and occurs in the open seas of the Southern Hemisphere, mainly between 32°S and 58°S.
