Antarctic Petrel
A species of Antarctic Petrel Scientific name : Thalassoica antarctica Genus : Antarctic Petrel
Antarctic Petrel, A species of Antarctic Petrel
Botanical name: Thalassoica antarctica
Genus: Antarctic Petrel
Content
Description General Info
Photo By Nigel Voaden
Description
The adult Antarctic petrel has a brown head, sides, throat, and back. Their bill is black and their feet are yellow. Their underparts are white and their tail and secondaries on their wings are white with brown tips.
Size
46 cm
Feeding Habits
Antarctic Petrel primarily consumes krill, fish, squid, crustacea, and jellyfish, with notable preference for Electrona antarctica. Utilizes surface-seizing, surface-plunging, and contact-dipping feeding behaviors, and can dive from air or water. Parents adjust foraging trips according to chick age. Antarctic Petrel often forages near whales and in seabird flocks.
Habitat
The antarctic Petrel frequents open marine environments near pack ice, favoring regions dotted with icebergs. It adapts to a largely pelagic lifestyle outside of the breeding season, capable of embarking on extensive offshore foraging voyages, sometimes up to several thousand kilometers. During breeding, it nests on snow-free cliffs and rugged rock faces primarily positioned along coastal areas or on offshore islands. The antarctic Petrel showcases a remarkable range of habitat use within its Antarctic domain.
Dite type
Piscivorous
General Info
Distribution Area
The Antarctic petrel, as its name implies, lives and breeds in the Southern Ocean, and on the Antarctic islands.
Species Status
This petrel has an occurrence range of 35,200,000 km (13,590,796 sq mi) and between 10 and 20 million adult birds based on a 2009 estimate. Due to its huge range and large numbers, it has been classified by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature as a species of least concern.
Photo By Nigel Voaden
Scientific Classification
Phylum
Chordates Class
Birds Order
Albatrosses and Petrels Family
Shearwaters and petrels Genus
Antarctic Petrel Species
Antarctic Petrel