This article is about the petrel seabirds. For other uses, see petrel (disambiguation). The flammable liquid is correctly spelt petrol.

Petrels are tube-nosed seabirds in the bird order Procellariiformes. The giant petrels are two large Seabirds from the Genus Macronectes. Seabirds are Birds that have adapted to life within the marine environment Birds ( class Aves) are bipedal endothermic ( Warm-blooded) Vertebrate animals that lay eggs. Procellariiformes is an order of Seabirds that comprises four families: the Albatrosses procellariids, Storm-petrels and Diving The common name does not indicate relationship beyond that point, as "petrels" occur in three of the four families within that group (except the Albatross family, Diomedeidae). Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large Seabirds allied to the procellariids, Storm-petrels and Diving-petrels Having a fossil record that was assumed to extend back at least 60 million years, the Procellariiformes was long considered to be among the older bird groupings, other than the ratites, with presumably distant ties to penguins and loons. FOSSIL is a standard protocol for allowing serial communication for Telecommunications programs under the DOS Operating system. A ratite is any of a diverse group of large Flightless birds of Gondwanan origin most of them now extinct Penguins ( order Sphenisciformes, family Spheniscidae) are a group of aquatic, flightless Birds living almost The loons (eg North America or divers (eg UK/Ireland are a group of aquatic birds found in many parts of North America and northern Eurasia However, recent research and fossil finds such as Vegavis show that the Galliformes (Pheasants, Grouse and relatives), and Anseriformes (ducks, geese and swans) are older, while the relationships of the tube-nosed seabirds are still not fully resolved. Vegavis is a Genus of extinct Bird that lived during the Late Cretaceous ( Maastrichtian stage of Antarctica, some Galliformes are an order of Birds containing turkeys, Grouse, Chickens Quails and Pheasants More than 250 Pheasants are a group of large Birds in the order Galliformes. Grouse are a group of birds from the order Galliformes. Often considered a family Tetraonidae, the American Ornithologists' Union The order Anseriformes contains about 150 living Species of Birds in three extant families the Anhimidae (the screamers Anseranatidae For duck as a food see Duck (food; for other meanings see Duck (disambiguation. Goose (plural geese) is the English name for a considerable number of Birds belonging to the family Anatidae. Swans are Birds of the family Anatidae, which also includes geese and Ducks Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in

All the members of the order are exclusively pelagic in distribution — returning to land only to breed. Any water in the sea that is not close to the bottom is in the pelagic zone.

The family Procellariidae is the main radiation of medium-sized true petrels, characterised by united nostrils with medium septum, and a long outer functional primary. The family Procellariidae is a group of Seabirds that comprises the Fulmarine petrels the Gadfly petrels the prions, and the Shearwaters It is dominant in the Southern Oceans, but not so in the Northern Hemisphere.

It includes a number of petrel groups, the relationships between which have finally been resolved to satisfaction (Austin, 1996; Bretagnolle et al. , 1998; Nunn & Stanley, 1998 and Brooke, 2004):

• The fulmarine petrels: 7 species: surface predators and filter feeders, breed in high latitudes but migrate along cool currents to the north. Bird migration refers to the regular seasonal journeys undertaken by many species of Birds Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability All but Fulmarus essentially confined to the south, Fulmarus apparently colonised the N hemisphere during the Early Miocene. The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene period and extends from about 23
  • The huge giant petrels, genus Macronectes, which are convergent with the albatrosses,
  • The true fulmars, genus Fulmarus,
  • Antarctic Petrel Thalassoica antarctica,
  • Cape Petrel Daption capense,
  • Snow Petrel Pagodroma nivea. The giant petrels are two large Seabirds from the Genus Macronectes. The two Fulmars are closely related Seabirds occupying the same niche in different Oceans. The Antarctic Petrel ( Thalassoica antarctica) is a boldly marked dark brown and white Petrel, found in Antarctica, most commonly in the Ross The Cape Petrel, Daption capense, is a common Seabird of the Southern Ocean from the family Procellariidae. The Snow Petrel ( Pagodroma nivea) is a small pure white Fulmarine petrel with black underdown coal-black eyes small black bill and bluish gray feet

• The prions: A specialised group of a few very numerous species, all southern. They have a small, fulmar-like form and mostly filter-feed on zooplankton.
  • Pachyptila, the prions proper
  • Blue Petrel Halobaena caerula. The prions are small Petrels in the Genus Pachyptila. Together with the Blue Petrel, they form one of the four groups within the Procellariidae The Blue Petrel ( Halobaena caerulea) is a small Seabird in the family Procellariidae.

• The procellariine petrels, larger or mid-sized species feeding on fish and molluscs which are fairly close to the prions:
  • Procellaria and
  • Bulweria. Procellaria is a genus of southern ocean long-winged Seabirds All five species are named as 'petrel' although they were thought to be more closely related to Bulweria is a Genus of Seabirds in the family Procellariidae.

• Shearwaters: numerous species in several genera with a medium number of species. Shearwaters are medium-sized long-winged Seabirds There are more than 20 Species of shearwaters a few larger ones in the genus Calonectris
  • Calonectris,
  • Puffinus, which is in fact two rather distinct groups of larger and smaller species,
  • Pseudobulweria,
  • Kerguelen Petrel Lugensa brevirostris. Calonectris is a genus of Seabirds It comprises three large Shearwaters There are two other shearwater genera Puffinus is a Genus of Seabirds in the order Procellariiformes Pseudobulweria is a Genus of Seabirds in the family Procellariidae. The Kerguelen Petrel, Lugensa brevirostris, is a small (36 cm long slate-grey Seabird in the family Procellariidae.

• The gadfly petrels: These are a considerable number of agile short-billed petrels in the genus Pterodroma which include the endangered Bermuda Petrel or Cahow and a considerable number of forms rendered extinct by human activity. The gadfly petrels are Seabirds in the Bird order Procellariiformes. The Bermuda Petrel, Pterodroma cahow, is a gadfly Petrel. Commonly known in Bermuda as the Cahow In Biology and Ecology, extinction is the cessation of existence of a Species or group of taxa.

The family Hydrobatidae is the storm-petrels, small pelagic petrels with a fluttering flight which often follow ships. The storm-petrels are Seabirds in the family Hydrobatidae, part of the order Procellariiformes.

The family Pelecanoididae is the four species of diving petrels, genus Pelacanoides. The diving-petrels are Seabirds in the Bird order Procellariiformes These are auk-like small petrels of the southern oceans. This article is about a family of birds For the American ornithological journal see The Auk.

Contents 1 Etymology 2 See also 3 References 4 External links

Etymology

The word "petrel" comes from the Latin name for the Christian Saint Peter, and refers to the habits of certain species to hover just above the ocean waves, with their feet barely touching the water, thus giving an appearance of walking on water, as St. Peter is said to have done.

See also

• Skua

References

• Austin, Jeremy J. Skuas are Seabirds in the family Stercorariidae. The three smaller skuas are called jaegers in North America (1996): Molecular Phylogenetics of Puffinus Shearwaters: Preliminary Evidence from Mitochondrial Cytochrome b Gene Sequences. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 6(1): 77–88 doi:10.1006/mpev.1996.0060 (HTML abstract)

• Bretagnolle, V. A digital object identifier ( DOI) is a permanent identifier given to an Electronic document. , Attié, C. , Pasquet, E. , (1998) "Cytochrome-B evidence for validity and phylogenetic relationships of Pseudobulweria and Bulweria (Procellariidae)" Auk 115(1):188-195 PDf fulltext

• Brooke, M. (2004): Albatrosses and Petrels Across the World. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. ISBN 0-19-850125-0

• Nunn, Gary B. & Stanley, Scott E. (1998): Body Size Effects and Rates of Cytochrome b Evolution in Tube-Nosed Seabirds. Molecular Biology and Evolution 15: 1360-1371. PDF fulltext Corrigendum

External links

• Petrel and Shearwater videos on the Internet Bird Collection
• Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP)

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