Ashy Storm-petrel
A species of Dark Storm Petrels Scientific name : Hydrobates homochroa Genus : Dark Storm Petrels
Ashy Storm-petrel, A species of Dark Storm Petrels
Botanical name: Hydrobates homochroa
Genus: Dark Storm Petrels
Content
Description General Info
Description
This is a small, uniformly sooty-brown storm petrel with a forked tail, closely resembling the black storm petrel, however it is smaller and has a more fluttering style of flight, with the upstroke only becoming horizontal to the body before beginning the downstroke (other storm-petrels in its range have a higher upstroke). It is a gregarious bird at sea, feeding nocturnally on cephalopods, fish (particularly the deep sea myctophids, which rise to the sea's surface at night) and euphausiid krill such as Thysanoessa spinifera, which also swarm at the surface. They will also attend fishing vessels for the fish oils released when the nets are pulled. Ashy storm petrels nest in rock burrows on offshore islands, returning to the nests at night. The species has a long breeding cycle, laying eggs in May and fledging in October, although timing varies greatly, more so than in most other storm petrels: some pairs may have a chick that is half grown when other pairs are still laying. Like in many other seabirds, pairs show both mate and site fidelity, mating in the same pair with the same mate for many years and nesting at the same burrow, despite the pairs spending their lives out of the breeding season separate from each other, and despite the fact that many individuals might seem to compete for burrows at the nesting colonies. A change in mate is usually associated with a change in nesting site. The ashy storm petrel is a long-lived bird; a banded individual has lived at least 31 years.
Size
21 cm
Life Expectancy
25-31 years
Nest Placement
Cliff
Feeding Habits
Ashy Storm-petrel feeds mainly on sea-surface small fish, young squid, crustaceans, euphausiids, and crab larvae. Ashy Storm-petrel exhibits foraging methods tailored to surface-hunting, often at dusk or night, leveraging innate dietary adaptations to consume a variety of oceanic prey.
Habitat
Dry, rocky islands among talus slopes and rock walls, from just above sea level near the beach to the highest, interior portions of nesting islands, sea caves, smaller islands, their associated offshore rocks, and nearshore mainland coastal rocks
Nest Behavior
Egg-laying for ashy Storm-petrel spans from late April to mid-July, sometimes into September. Pairs trill and twitter in chambers pre-laying and visit year-round, but only at night.
Nest Characteristics
Ashy Storm-petrel nests in natural cavities or crevices under rock piles, driftwood, or in old burrows; typically, no lining is added.
Dite type
Piscivorous
General Info
Feeding Habits
Bird food type
Scientific Classification
Phylum
Chordates Class
Birds Order
Albatrosses and Petrels Family
Hydrobatidae Genus
Dark Storm Petrels Species
Ashy Storm-petrel