Antarctic Prion
Dove Petrel ( Pachyptila desolata )
The pigeons Petrel ( Pachyptila desolata ), also referred to as Antarctic Walvogel, is a species of bird in the genus of prions ( Pachyptila ) within the family of petrels ( Procellariidae ). We distinguish between up to three subspecies.
Features
The pigeons Petrel reached a size 25 to 27 centimeters and a weight of 150 to 160 grams. The wing span is 58 to 66 centimeters. The middle of the lower tail is black as the Slender-billed Petrel however ( Pachyptila belcheri ) has a thicker black terminal band on. About the breast runs an incomplete, clear, broad, dark gray band. The juvenile birds are indistinguishable from the adult birds. Between the subspecies, there are differences in the width of the beak and the length of the wings and tail.
Confusion opportunities exist with all types of prions. Especially pronounced is the similarity with the little ducks Petrel, which can hardly be distinguished in field observations. The beak of pigeons Petrel is somewhat shorter and less wide at the base as the little ducks Petrel.
Subspecies and their distribution
The nominate Pachyptila desolata desolata breeding on the Crozet Islands, Kerguelen and Macquarie of. Breeding colonies of race Pachyptila desolata old located on the Auckland Islands and on Heard Island. The breeding areas of the subspecies Pachyptila desolata banksi are known from South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, the South Orkney Islands, the South Shetland Islands and of the Scott Island.
Habitat
Outside the breeding season the pigeons Petrel on the high seas keeps on far away from the coasts. He comes north of the pack ice in the cold waters before. Hatched on slopes in the tussock, in crevices in boulders or cliffs.
Food
The food of pigeons Petrel consists of crustaceans, especially krill ( Euphausia superba ), copepods ( Calanoides acutus ), amphipods ( Themisto ) and small amounts of fish and squid.
Reproduction
The breeding season usually starts in November. You may be delayed if the snowfall is too strong, however. The birds nest in dense colonies. The nest consists of an egg that is laid in burrows, crevices or in a crevice. The incubation period is 44 to 46 days. The chicks have a blue-gray downy feathers. After 45 to 55 days the young are fledged.
Hiking
After completion of the incubation period, all birds leave the colony and pull probably to the north. They hunt spread far beyond the waters of the South Atlantic and the southern Indian Ocean where you can watch them from the pack ice to the subtropical latitudes of South America. Evidence is there north of the 12th degree of latitude in Peruvian coastal waters and in the waters south of Australia and South Africa.
Inventory and risk
The pigeons Petrel is not threatened and widespread. In the 1990s, the total population was estimated at many millions of individuals, including 22 million couples in Georgia and 2000000-3000000 breeding pairs on the Kerguelen.