Mottled petrel
The mottled petrel (Pterodroma inexpectata) or kōrure is a species of seabird and a member of the gadfly petrels. It usually attains 33 to 35 cm (13–14 in) in length with a 74 to 82 cm (29–32 in) wingspan.
Mottled petrel | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Clade: | Dinosauria |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Procellariiformes |
Family: | Procellariidae |
Genus: | Pterodroma |
Species: | P. inexpectata |
Binomial name | |
Pterodroma inexpectata (J. R. Forster, 1844) | |
This species is highly pelagic, rarely approaching land, except to nest and rear young. The mottled petrel feeds mostly on fish and squid, with some crustaceans taken. It is a transequatorial migrant, breeding in the islands of New Zealand, and migrating to the Bering Sea, concentrating in the Gulf of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands.
The mottled petrel uses burrows and rock crevices to nest in. It was formerly more numerous than today. The species' numbers have been and continue to be affected by predation by introduced mammals. Chicks have been reintroduced to Maungaharuru, hills 24 km from the sea, in Hawke's Bay.[2]
- Pterodroma inexpectata, Auckland Museum collection
References
- BirdLife International (2018). "Pterodroma inexpectata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T22697963A132615071. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22697963A132615071.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- Brownlie, Kaysha (18 April 2016). "Korure settling into new home". Hawke's Bay Today. Retrieved 23 April 2016.
- "National Geographic" Field Guide to the Birds of North America ISBN 0-7922-6877-6
- Seabirds, an Identification Guide by Peter Harrison, (1983) ISBN 0-7470-1410-8
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Vol 1, Josep del Hoyo editor, ISBN 84-87334-10-5
- "National Audubon Society" The Sibley Guide to Birds, by David Allen Sibley, ISBN 0-679-45122-6
External links
Media related to Pterodroma inexpectata at Wikimedia Commons