Zino's Petrel
A species of Gadfly Petrels Scientific name : Pterodroma madeira Genus : Gadfly Petrels
Zino's Petrel, A species of Gadfly Petrels
Botanical name: Pterodroma madeira
Genus: Gadfly Petrels
Content
Description General Info
Description
This long-winged petrel is 32–34 cm (13–13 in) long with an 80–86 cm (31–34 in) wingspan, and an average weight of 290 g (10.3 in). It has a grey back, grey wings with a dark "W" marking across them, and a grey upper tail. The undersides of the wings are blackish apart from a triangle of white at the front edge near the body, and the belly is white with grey flanks. The head has a mottled whitish-brown forehead, a dark cap, and a dark spot below and behind the brown eye. The bill is black and the legs are flesh pink, the colour continuing onto the first third of the feet, the rest of the toes and webs being black-brown. It gives the general impression of a small Cory's or great shearwater, with a fast flight; in strong winds it shears high above the surface with angled wings. Nothing is known of the fresh juvenile plumage or the moult sequence, and ageing birds is currently not feasible. This species is very similar in appearance to the Fea's petrel, but is smaller. The size difference and lighter flight may not be apparent at sea, especially with lone birds, but a recent study helped to clarify other useful features. Zino's has a diagnostically small, delicate, often rather long and slender bill, which may be obvious in the most slender-billed examples, which are probably mostly females, but can be difficult to determine in larger-billed, probably adult male, birds. Another useful feature is a large whitish panel on the underwing. The wing panel is exclusive to Zino's but is only shown by 15% of the birds. Zino's has a more rounded wing tip, but P. feae deserti sometimes shows a rounded wing tip, so this feature is not diagnostic. Previously suggested criteria such as head, upperwing and flank patterns were found to be inconclusive. Off the eastern United States and the Azores, both Macronesian petrels are easily distinguished from the larger Bermuda petrel by that species' upperparts, which are uniformly dark but for a pale grey rump. This species at its breeding sites gives a long mournful call like the hooting of a tawny owl, and a much less frequent sound like the whimpering of a pup. It is silent at sea. The breeding calls are very similar to those of Fea's petrel, and Bretagnolle's analysis of the calls of the soft-plumaged petrel complex led him to suggest in 1995 only a two-way species split, with the northern forms madeira, feae and deserti all as subspecies of Fea's petrel. 
Size
35 cm
Life Expectancy
16 years
Nest Placement
Burrow
Feeding Habits
Zino's Petrel primarily feeds on small squid and fish, employing nocturnal foraging techniques at sea. This bird possesses specialized dietary preferences and adaptations for consuming marine life.
Habitat
Zino's Petrel is a marine and pelagic species, typically found in the open ocean far from land. For breeding, these birds prefer remote montane regions, specifically choosing steep and vegetated ledges high in the mountains. The breeding sites are often located at the elevation of around 1600 meters above sea level, at the foot of sheer cliffs. This habitat choice helps protect zino's Petrel from various ground predators and human disturbances.
Dite type
Piscivorous
General Info
Feeding Habits
Bird food type
Distribution Area
Zino's petrel is endemic to the main island of Madeira, where it breeds on inaccessible and well-vegetated ledges in the central mountains between Pico do Areeiro and Pico Ruivo. The typical ledge plants are endemic hemicryptophytess and Chamaephytes, but grasses may also be present. It nests at heights above 1,650 m (5,410 ft). It was formerly more widespread, since subfossil remains have been found in a cave in eastern Madeira, and on nearby Porto Santo Island. The breeding ledges have to be inaccessible to introduced goats so that they remain rich in endemic flora. The vegetation ensures that there is sufficient earth on the ledges to allow the birds to burrow and make their nests, and trampling by grazing animals reduces the soil cover. This petrel is only present in Madeiran waters during the breeding season. Its distribution at sea during the rest of the year is poorly known due to the rarity of the species and the difficulty of separating it from other Pterodroma petrels at sea. Birds identified as either Zino's or Fea's have been recorded from both sides of the North Atlantic, and in Ireland and Britain there has been a large increase in the number of reports, perhaps because global warming brings increasing numbers of tropical species into temperate waters. The timing of the reports, mainly in late spring and summer in the western North Atlantic, and in late summer and early autumn in the east, has suggested that birds follow a clockwise route around the North Atlantic after leaving their breeding sites. However, the few birds that have been identified with certainty have all been Fea's. Zino's petrel may have a similar strategy, since preliminary results from geolocation studies indicate widespread dispersal over the North Atlantic central ridge during the breeding season, and migration towards the Brazilian coast in the non-breeding period. Pterodroma petrels have been recorded in the Canary Islands and the Azores on surprisingly few occasions; a claim of possible Zino's from South Africa is now thought to be erroneous.
Scientific Classification
Phylum
Chordates Class
Birds Order
Albatrosses and Petrels Family
Shearwaters and petrels Genus
Gadfly Petrels Species
Zino's Petrel 
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