Zino's petrel (Pterodroma madeira) or the freira, is a species of small seabird in the gadfly petrelgenus, 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 one of Europe's most endangered seabirds, with breeding areas restricted to a few ledges high in the central mountains of Madeira.
Zino's petrel nests in burrows which are visited only at night, when they give their haunting calls. The single white egg is incubated by both adults, one sitting during the day while the other feeds on fish and squid at sea. Eggs, chicks and adults have been subject to predation by introduced cats and rats, and in the past have been taken for food by local shepherds. Predator control, and other measures such as the removal of grazing animals that trample the burrows, have enabled the population to recover to 65–80 breeding pairs; the species remains listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List. However, conservation efforts had a major setback in August 2010 when fires killed three adults and 65 percent of the chicks. The population eventually recovered and was stable at 160 individuals by 2018.
Taxonomy
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.[2] 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 mitochondrial DNA analysis, and differences in size, vocalisations, breeding behaviour, showed that the northern birds are not closely related to P. mollis,[3] and that the Bermuda petrel or Cahow may be the closest relative of the Macaronesian birds.[2] Ornithologist George Sangster recommended establishing Zino's petrel on Madeira and Fea's petrel on the Desertas and Cape Verde as full species,[3] and the species split was accepted by the Association of European Rarities Committees (AERC) in 2003.[4]
Nunn and Zino estimated that the two Macaronesian species diverged at the end of the Early Pleistocene, 850,000 years ago.[3] An analysis of feather lice taken from Fea's petrels, Pterodroma feae deserti, from Bugio Island, and from 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 Pterodroma species. 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.[5] Although their reproductive isolation has allowed the separate evolutionary development of the two species, genetic evidence shows the three Macaronesian petrels are each other's closest relatives.[6][7]
The petrels breeding in the high central mountains of Madeira were first recorded in 1903 by German naturalist and priest Ernst Johann Schmitz, who failed to realise that they were different from the Fea's petrels he had seen in the Desertas. The species was formally described as a race of soft-plumaged petrel by Australian amateur ornithologistGregory Mathews in 1934.[8] Following the recognition of the Madeiran birds as a full species, they were named after the British ornithologist, Paul Alexander Zino, who was instrumental in their conservation during the latter half of the twentieth century. The genus name Pterodroma is derived from Greek πτερον, pteron, "a wing", and δρομος, dromos, "running", and refers to the bird's swift erratic flight.[9] The specific madeira refers to the island on which it breeds. The Portuguese name Freira means "nun"; the inhabitants of Curral das Freiras (Nun's Valley) near the breeding site claimed that the nocturnal wailing of the petrels in the breeding season were the calls of the suffering souls of the nuns. The sisters had taken refuge in the valley from attacks on the island by French pirates in 1566 that lasted for 15 days.[10][11]
Pterodroma petrel remains dated between 60,000 and 25,000 years BP were found in two cave sites in Gibraltar. They consist of a more abundant form similar in size to Zino's, and a larger, less common type. It is uncertain whether they represent the site of a former breeding colony, or are the result of a seabird wreck in which storms blow birds inland. They do suggest, however, that members of the genus were formerly more widespread.[12]
Description
Illustration of species
This long-winged petrel is 32–34cm (13–13in) long with an 80–86cm (31–34in)wingspan ,[13] and an average weight of 290g (10.3in).[14] It has a grey back , grey wings with a dark "W" marking across them, 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 . The head has a mottled whitish-brown forehead , a dark cap, and a dark spot below and behind the brown eye. The bill is black and the legs are flesh pink, the colour continuing onto the first third of the feet, the rest of the toes and webs being black-brown.[15] It gives the general impression of a small Cory's or great shearwater, with a fast flight; in strong winds it shears high above the surface with angled wings.[13] Nothing is known of the fresh juvenile plumage or the moult sequence, and age assessment is currently not feasible.[14]
This species is very similar in appearance to the Fea's petrel, but is smaller. The size difference and lighter flight may not be apparent at sea, especially with lone birds, but a recent study helped to clarify other useful features. Zino's has a diagnostically small, delicate, often rather long and slender bill, which may be obvious in the most slender-billed examples, which are probably mostly females, but can be difficult to determine in larger-billed, probably adult male, birds. Another useful feature is a large whitish panel on the underwing . The wing panel is exclusive to Zino's but is only shown by 15% of the birds. Zino's has a more rounded wing tip, but P. feae deserti sometimes shows a rounded wing tip, so this feature is not diagnostic. Previously suggested criteria such as head, upper wing and flank patterns were found to be inconclusive.[14] Off the eastern United States and the Azores, both Macaronesian petrels are easily distinguished from the larger Bermuda petrel by that species' upperparts , which are uniformly dark but for a pale grey rump .[16]
This species at its breeding sites gives a long mournful call like the hooting of a tawny owl, and a much less frequent sound like the whimpering of a pup. It is silent at sea.[17] The breeding calls are very similar to those of Fea's petrel, and Bretagnolle's analysis of the calls of the soft-plumaged petrel complex led him to suggest in 1995 only a two-way species split, with the northern forms madeira, feae and deserti all as subspecies of Fea's petrel.[18]
"Snowy-winged petrel"
The Hadoram Shirihai expeditions to the Madeira archipelago in 2008, 2009, and 2010 each had sightings of a Pterodroma petrel (possibly the same bird) with largely white underwings, but upper wings like Zino's or Fea's. This plumage does not correspond to any known Pterodroma species. It may have been an unusual variant of Zino's but this is unlikely since no similar bird has been seen amongst the more than 100 caught at the nest. It may alternatively be a single aberrant individual, a hybrid or an unknown taxon from Madeira or elsewhere. No conclusion is possible on current knowledge.[14]
Distribution and habitat
Track to the breeding ledges
Zino's petrel is endemic to the main island of Madeira, where it breeds on inaccessible and well-vegetated ledges in the central mountains between Pico do Arieiro and Pico Ruivo. The typical ledge plants are endemic hemicryptophytes and chamaephytes, but grasses may also be present.[19] It nests at heights above 1,650m (5,410ft). It was formerly more widespread, since subfossil remains have been found in a cave in eastern Madeira, and on nearby Porto Santo Island. The breeding ledges have to be inaccessible to introduced goats so that they remain rich in endemic flora. The vegetation ensures that there is sufficient earth on the ledges to allow the birds to burrow and make their nests, and trampling by grazing animals reduces the soil cover.[20]
This petrel is only present in Madeiran waters during the breeding season. Its distribution at sea during the rest of the year is poorly known due to the rarity of the species and the difficulty of separating it from other Pterodroma petrels at sea.[13][17][21] Birds identified as either Zino's or Fea's have been recorded from both sides of the North Atlantic, and in Ireland and Britain there has been a large increase in the number of reports, perhaps because global warming brings increasing numbers of tropical species into temperate waters. The timing of the reports, mainly in late spring and summer in the western North Atlantic, and in late summer and early autumn in the east, has suggested that birds follow a clockwise route around the North Atlantic after leaving their breeding sites. However, the few birds that have been identified with certainty have all been Fea's.[12] Zino's petrel may have a similar strategy since preliminary results from geolocation studies indicate widespread dispersal over the North Atlantic central ridge during the breeding season and migration towards the Brazilian coast in the non-breeding period. Pterodroma petrels have been recorded in the Canary Islands and the Azores on surprisingly few occasions;[14] a claim of possible Zino's from South Africa is now thought to be erroneous.[12]
Behaviour
Breeding
Chick at several weeks old
Zino's petrel breed two months earlier than the Fea's petrel on Bugio, only 50km (31mi) away. The birds return from sea to their breeding grounds in late March or early April and courting occurs over the main breeding area during the late evening and early morning hours.[8] The nest is a shallow burrow or old rabbit tunnel up to 140cm (55in) long in thick soil on vegetated ledges. The length of the burrow is related to the age of the pair that uses it, young birds making shorter tunnels, which are extended in subsequent years. The oval white egg is laid from mid-May to mid-June in a chamber at the end of the burrow and incubated for 51–54 days, each parent alternating between sitting on the nest and feeding at sea.[17][19] The young fledge about 85 days later in late September and October. This petrel is strictly nocturnal at the breeding sites to avoid predation by gulls. It stays 3–5km (1.9–3.1mi) offshore during the day, coming to land in darkness. It calls from about 30minutes after nightfall until dawn, including on moonlit nights.[17]
This species mates for life and pairs return to the same burrow year after year. The single egg is not replaced if lost.[22] This is a long-lived species: one individual was observed to return to its burrow for ten consecutive years,[15] and the lifespan is estimated to be about 16years.[21] The age of first breeding is unknown but assumed to be four or more years.[19] Despite the proximity of their breeding sites, Zino's and Fea's petrels have never been found at each other's nesting areas,[14] and Zino's is not known to hybridise with any other species.[23]
Feeding
Zino's petrel, like its relatives, feed on small squid and fish. The vomited stomach contents of one bird contained cephalopods, the bioluminiscent fish Electrona risso and small crustaceans.[20] Like other small petrels, Zino's does not normally follow ships.[22]
Predators and parasites
Their nocturnal approach to the breeding sites means that Zino's petrels avoid the attentions of gulls or diurnal raptors, and the only owl on the island, the barn owl, is a rodent hunter. Other than bats, there are no native land mammals on Madeira, although there are a number of introduced species, two of which will take birds or chicks.[24] These are brown rats and feral domestic cats. Even the high mountain nest sites of the Zino's petrel are not safe from these adaptable predators, ten adults being killed by cats in 1990.[20][25] Feather lice found on Zino's petrels include Trabeculus schillingi, Saemundssonia species and an unnamed species of Halipeurus.[5]
Conservation status
Zino's petrel has a very restricted range on the mountaintops of a single island and is one of Europe’s most endangered seabirds.[26] The birds, already confined to a limited area when discovered, were thought to be extinct by the mid-twentieth century.[8] Two freshly fledged juveniles were found within the walls of the governor's palace in Funchal in the early 1940s, presumably attracted there by lights, but the species was not seen again until 1969.[22] In 1969, Paul Zino played a tape of Fea's petrel from Bugio to a shepherd from Curral das Freiras; he immediately recognised the call and led the researchers to the remaining nesting area. Predation by introduced rats meant that breeding success in the small population was low, and no young at all fledged in 1985. The Freira Conservation Project was founded in 1986 with the aim of increasing the population of Zino's petrel by controlling rats and human interference; the control was extended to cats after the mass predation of 1990.[8]
There are now 130–160 known individuals (65–80 breeding pairs) confirmed to breed on just six ledges. There may be some disturbance from visitors at night and from the construction of a NATO radar station on the summit of Mount Arieiro, and in the longer term climate change may have an adverse effect, since all nests are within 1,000m (3,300ft) of the top of the highest mountain in the breeding area. Formerly, shepherds collected nestlings for food, and egg collectors have raided burrows. Currently, the main threats continue to be predation of eggs and chicks by rats, and of nesting adults by feral cats,[21] although at much reduced levels due to trapping.[8]
Zino's petrel is protected under the EU's Wild Birds Directive, and its breeding sites lie within the Parque Natural da Madeiranational park. Following the purchase of about 300 hectares (740 acres) of land around the main breeding site, all livestock has been removed from the breeding areas, allowing the vegetation to recover, although breeding still only occurs on ledges that were never accessible to grazing animals. The research and predator control by the Freira Conservation Project and the national park which started in 1986 was expanded in 2001 with additional EU funding. The increase in productivity (29 chicks fledged in 2004) meant that this species was downgraded from critically endangered to endangered on the IUCN Red List in 2004.[1] Its population appeared to be stable or increasing slightly up to the summer of 2010.[21]
A disaster struck the colony on 13 August 2010, when a forest fire swept through the breeding site killing three adults and 25 of the 38 chicks. The fire destroyed the vegetation and several nesting burrows. Conservation action to protect the 13 remaining chicks included removing dead birds and burnt vegetation, reinforcing the surviving nests, and setting poison bait for rats around the now exposed nest sites. The action plan also included the provision of artificial burrows, seed dispersal to help the vegetation recover, and the use of anti-erosion materials.[27] By 2018, the colony had recovered and was stable at 160 adults.[21]
Related Research Articles
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".
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.
The Fea's petrel is a small seabird in the gadfly petrel genus, Pterodroma. It was previously considered to be a subspecies of the soft-plumaged petrel, 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". This species is named after the Italian zoologist Leonardo Fea (1852-1903).
Bulwer's petrel is a small petrel in the family Procellariidae that is found in tropical and subtropical regions of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is named after the English naturalist James Bulwer.
The magenta petrel, or Chatham Island tāiko, is a small seabird in the gadfly petrel genus, Pterodroma. Found exclusively on Chatham Island, New Zealand it is one of the rarest birds in the world, believed to be extinct for over 100 years before its rediscovery in the 1970s.
The Bermuda petrel is a gadfly petrel. Commonly known in Bermuda as the cahow, a name derived from its eerie cries, this nocturnal ground-nesting seabird is the national bird of Bermuda and can be found pictured on Bermudian currency. The Bermuda petrel is the second rarest seabird on the planet. They have medium-sized body and long wings, a greyish-black crown and collar, dark grey upper-wings and tail, white upper-tail coverts and white under-wings edged with black, and the underparts are completely white.
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.
Paul Alexander Zino was a British businessman and ornithologist after whom Zino's petrel is named.
Cook's petrel, or the tītī or blue-footed petrel, is a Procellariform seabird. It is a member of the gadfly petrels and part of the subgenus Cookilaria Bonaparte, 1856, which includes the very similar Stejneger's petrel.
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.
Masatierra petrel or De Filippi's petrel, is a species of seabird in the family Procellariidae. It is endemic to Chile where it nests in the Juan Fernández Islands and Desventuradas Islands. Its natural habitats are open seas and rocky shores.
The Juan Fernández petrel is a species of seabird in the family Procellariidae. It nests on a single island off the coast of Chile, in the Juan Fernández Archipelago. It was previously classified as a subspecies of the white-necked petrel, which is found in tropical waters of the Pacific and Indian Oceans.
The soft-plumaged petrel is a species of seabird in the family Procellariidae.
Pycroft's petrel is a species of seabird in the petrel and shearwater family Procellariidae.
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".
Seabirds include some of the most threatened taxa anywhere in the world. For example, of extant albatross species, 82% are listed as threatened, endangered, or critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The two leading threats to seabirds are accidental bycatch by commercial fishing operations and introduced mammals on their breeding islands. Mammals are typically brought to remote islands by humans either accidentally as stowaways on ships, or deliberately for hunting, ranching, or biological control of previously introduced species. Introduced mammals have a multitude of negative effects on seabirds including direct and indirect effects. Direct effects include predation and disruption of breeding activities, and indirect effects include habitat transformation due to overgrazing and major shifts in nutrient cycling due to a halting of nutrient subsidies from seabird excrement. There are other invasive species on islands that wreak havoc on native bird populations, but mammals are by far the most commonly introduced species to islands and the most detrimental to breeding seabirds. Despite efforts to remove introduced mammals from these remote islands, invasive mammals are still present on roughly 80% of islands worldwide.
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.
1 2 Onley, Derek; Scofield, Paul (2007). Albatrosses, Petrels and Shearwaters of the World (Helm Field Guides). London: Christopher Helm. p.17. ISBN978-0-7136-4332-9.
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.
1 2 Zonfrillo, Bernard (1993). "Relationships of the Pterodroma petrels from the Madeira archipelago inferred from their feather lice". Boletim do Museu Municipal do Funchal. Supplement 2: 325–321.
↑ Holloway, Joel Ellis (2003). Dictionary of birds of the United States: scientific and common names. Portland, Oregon: Timber Press. p.171. ISBN0-88192-600-0.
↑ Romano, Hugo; Fagundes, Catarina. "Aves da Madeira". (in Portuguese) Retrieved 14 September 2010
1 2 3 Harrop, Andrew H J (January 2004). "The 'soft-plumaged petrel' complex: a review of the literature on taxonomy, identification and distribution". British Birds. 97: 6–15.
1 2 3 4 5 6 Shirihai, Hadoram; Bretagnolle, Vincent; Zino, Francis (July 2010). "Identification of Fea's, Desertas and Zino's Petrels at sea". Birding World. 23 (6): 239–275.
1 2 Brooke, Michael de L (2004). Albatrosses and petrels across the world. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp.339–341. ISBN0-19-850125-0.
↑ Tove, Michael Henry (2001). Guide to the offshore wildlife of the northern Atlantic. Austin: University of Texas Press. p.111. ISBN0-292-78171-7.
1 2 3 4 Snow, David; Perrins, Christopher M, eds. (1998). The Birds of the Western Palearctic concise edition (2 volumes). Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp.39–40. ISBN0-19-854099-X.
↑ Masseti, Marco (March 2010). "Mammals of the Macaronesian islands (the Azores, Madeira, the Canary and Cape Verde islands): redefinition of the ecological equilibrium". Mammalia. 74 (1): 3–34. doi:10.1515/MAMM.2010.011. S2CID86776297.
↑ Medina, Félix M; Oliveira, Paulo; Menezes, Dilia; Teixeira, Sérgio; García, Rafael; Nogales, Manuel (July 2010). "Trophic habits of feral cats in the high mountain shrublands of the Macaronesian islands (NW Africa, Atlantic Ocean)". Acta Theriologica. 55 (3): 241–250. doi:10.4098/j.at.0001-7051.069.2009. S2CID25579227.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
