| Slender-billed prion | |
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Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Procellariiformes |
| Family: | Procellariidae |
| Genus: | Pachyptila |
| Species: | P. belcheri |
| Binomial name | |
| Pachyptila belcheri (Mathews, 1912) | |
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The slender-billed prion (Pachyptila belcheri) or thin-billed prion, is a species of petrel, a seabird in the family Procellariidae. It is found in the southern oceans.
The slender-billed prion was formally described in 1912 by the Australian born ornithologist Gregory Mathews under the binomial name Heteroprion belcheri. [2] The prion is now placed with the other prions in the genus Pachyptila that was introduced in 1811 by the German zoologist Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger. [3] [4] The genus name combines the Ancient Greek pakhus meaning "dense" or "thick" with ptilon meaning "feather" or "plumage". The specific epithet belcheri was chosen in recognition of the Australian judge and amateur ornithologist Charles Belcher who had found the first specimens dead on a beach near the town of Geelong in the Australian state of Victoria. [3] [5] The species is considered to be monotypic: no subspecies are recognised. [4]
The name prion comes from the Greek word priōn, meaning "saw", a reference of the serrated edges of the birds' saw-like bill. [6] [7]
The slender-billed prion is a member of the Pachyptila genus, which, in combination with the genus Halobaena (whose single species is the blue petrel) makes up the polyphyletic traditional tribe of prions (or whalebirds). Prions are small petrels in the order Procellariiformes which share certain identifying features. First, they have nasal passages that attach to the upper bill called naricorns, although their nostrils are on top of the upper bill. Procellariiformes' bills are also unique in that they are split into between 7 and 9 horny plates; hence see below, under Etymology that the name prion within this order connotes a saw-like serrated edge to the bill. Prions produce a stomach oil made up of wax esters and triglycerides that is stored in the proventriculus, which they use against predators as well as an energy rich food source for chicks and for the adults during their long flights. [8] Finally, they also have a salt gland, situated above the nasal passage, which helps desalinate their bodies by excreting a high saline solution from their nose, relieving excessive salt for their metabolism as they imbibe a high volume of salty ocean water. [9]
Like all prions, they are blue-grey above and white below with a dark "M" on their back to their wingtips. They have a white eyebrow and a dark line extending from below the eye almost to the neck. Their tail is wedge-shaped and grey with a black tip, their bill is blue-grey, and their feet are pale blue. [10]
The slender-billed prion spends all their non-breeding time over ocean water in the southern oceans. When breeding, they will do so on the Crozet Islands, the Kerguelen Islands, the Falkland Islands and Noir Island off the coast of southern Chile. [11]
Like all prions, the slender-billed eat zooplankton, by filtering it through their bill. [12]
They are annual breeders and will lay one egg. Both parents will then incubate the egg and care for the young until they fledge. [12]
This species has a very large range and their estimated population is 7,000,000, allowing the IUCN to classify them as Least Concern. [1] [13]
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 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 spectacled petrel is a rare seabird that nests only on the high western plateau of Inaccessible Island in the South Atlantic Tristan da Cunha group. It is one of the largest petrels that nests in burrows. This species was formerly considered to be a subspecies of the white-chinned petrel.
Procellaria is a genus of Southern Ocean long-winged seabirds related to prions, and within the order Procellariiformes. The black petrel ranges in the Pacific Ocean, and as far north as Central America. The spectacled petrel is confined to the Atlantic Ocean, and the Westland petrel to the Pacific Ocean. The white-chinned and grey petrel range throughout the higher latitudes of the Southern Ocean.
The Antipodean albatross is a large seabird in the albatross family. Antipodean albatrosses are smaller than snowy albatrosses, and breed in predominantly brown plumage, but are otherwise difficult to distinguish from young snowy albatrosses.
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 Tristan albatross is a large seabird from the albatross family. One of the great albatrosses of the genus Diomedea, it was only widely recognised as a full species in 1998.
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 fulmar prion is a species of seabird in the family Procellariidae, found in the southern oceans.
Salvin's prion, also known as the medium-billed prion, is a species of seabird in the petrel family Procellariidae.
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.
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