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| White-faced Storm-petrel | ||||||||||||||
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| Pelagodroma marina ( Latham, 1790) |
The White-faced Storm-petrel, or White-faced Petrel, (Pelagodroma marina) is a small seabird of the storm-petrel family. It is the only member of its genus, Pelagodroma.
It breeds on remote islands in the south Atlantic, such as Tristan da Cunha and also Australia and New Zealand. There are north Atlantic colonies on the Cape Verde Islands, Canary IslandsComunidad Autonoma deCanarias ( In Detail) Capitals Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Santa Cruz de Tenerife Area total % of Spain Ranked 13th 7 447 kmē 1,5% Population Total (2003) % of Spain Density Ranked 8th 1 843 755 4,4% 247,58/kmē Demonym English Spanish and Savage IslandsThe Savage Islands (in Portuguese: Ilhas Selvagens form a small archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean between Madeira (280 km) and the Canary Islands (165 km). English-speakers often translate the name incorrectly as the Salvage Islands . As with all th. It nests in colonies close to the sea in rock crevices and lays a single white egg. It spends the rest of the year at sea.
It is strictly pelagic outside the breeding season, and this, together with its often-remote breeding sites, makes this petrel a difficult bird to see from land. Only in severe storms might this species be pushed into headlands.There have been a handful of western EuropeFor the band of the same name, see Europe (band . Europe is a continent forming the westermost part of the Eurasian supercontinent. Europe is bounded to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the Mediterranean Se records from FranceThe French Republic or France ( French: Republique francaise or France is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in western Europe, and which is further made up of a collection of overseas islands and territories located in other continents., Great BritainGreat Britain (often abbreviated as Britain is an island lying off the western coast of Europe, comprising the main territory of the United Kingdom. Great Britain is also used as a political term describing the combination of England, Scotland, and Wales, and The Netherlands.
This storm-petrel is strictly nocturnal at the breeding sites to avoid predation by gullPagophila ''Larus ''Rissa ''Creagus ''Xema ''Rhodostethia Gulls are seabirds in the family Laridae and subfamily Lari. They are closely related to the terns, and more distantly to the waders, auks and skimmers. Most gulls belong to the large genus Larus''s and skuas, and will even avoid coming to land on clear moonlit nights. Like most petrels, its walking ability is limited to a short shuffle to the burrow.
The White-faced Storm-petrel has a pale brown to grey back, rump and wings with black flight feathers. It is white below, unlike other north Atlantic petrels, and has a white face with a black eye mask like a phalarope. Its plumage makes it one of the easier petrels to identify at sea.
It has a direct gliding flight and will patter on the water surface as it picks planktonic food items from the ocean surface. It is highly gregarious, but does not follow ships.