Mottled Petrel
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| Pterodroma inexpectata (J.R. Forster, 1844) |
The Mottled Petrel (Pterodroma inexpectata) is a species of seabird and a member of the gadfly petrels. The bird is 33-35 cm in size, with a 74-82 cm wingspan.
This species is highly pelagic, rarely approaching land, except to nest and rear young. The Mottled Petrel feeds on mostly fish and squid, with some crustaceans taken. It is a transequatorial migrant, breeding in New Zealand and some of the lesser islands, then moving 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. Numbers were affected by predation by introduced mammals.
[edit] References
- BirdLife International (2004). Pterodroma inexpectata. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is near threatened, and the criteria used
- "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
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