Fea's Petrel
Encyclopedia
Fea's Petrel is a small seabird
in the gadfly petrel
genus
, Pterodroma. It was previously considered to be a subspecies
of the Soft-plumaged Petrel
, P. mollis, but they are actually not closely related at all. However, P. feae is very closely related to Zino's Petrel
and Deserta's Petrel
, two other species recently split from P. mollis.
in the Desertas Islands
, and in the Cape Verde
archipelago were long considered to be subspecies of the southern hemisphere Soft-plumaged Petrel P. mollis, but differences in size, vocalisations, breeding behaviour and mitochondriaal DNA analysis showed that the northern birds are not closely related to P. mollis, and that the Bermuda Petrel
or Cahow may be the closest relative of the Macaronesian birds. Sangster recommended establishing Zino's Petrel on Madeira and Fea's Petrel on the Desertas and Cape Verde as full species, and the species split was accepted by the Association of European Rarities Committees
(AERC) in 2003. More recently, some authorities have further split Fea's Petrel, separating the Desertas Islands
breeding birds from those in the Cape Verde
archipelago.
Sangster estimated that the two Macaronesian species they diverged at the end of the Early Pleistocene
, 850,000 years ago, although the methodology used to establish this time scale has subsequently been questioned. An analysis of feather lice from Fea's Petrel's Pterodroma feae deserti from Bugio Island and Zino's Petrels from the Madeiran mainland showed that there were marked differences between the two seabirds in terms of the parasites they carried, suggesting that they have long been isolated, since lice can normally only be transferred through physical contact in the nest. The species on Zino's Petrel are most similar to those of the Bermuda Petrel, whereas Fea's Petrel's lice are like those of Caribbean and Pacific Pterodromas This suggests that despite the close physical proximity of the two species of gadfly petrel found in the Madeiran archipelago, they may have arisen from separate colonisations of mainland Madeira and, later, the Desertas Islands
.
This bird is named after the Italian
zoologist Leonardo Fea
.
ic food items from the ocean
surface. This species is very similar to the Zino's Petrel
, but is larger and has a thicker black bill.
As all three of species in the Pterodroma feae/madeira/desertae complex were once believed to be subspecies of a single species: Pterodroma mollis. Well-understood is the extreme difficulty in telling them apart. A summary of data from a morphological study sheds light on the issue:
In terms of ratios:
in the Cape Verde Islands and Madeira Islands (Bugio Island
).
has not accepted these records, and the American Birding Association
has accepted them only as "Fea's/Zino's Petrel".
and Ireland
, though most records there are also acceptable only as "Fea's/ Zino's", with the exception of three at-sea records in British waters.
is strictly nocturnal at the breeding sites to avoid predation by gull
s. Like most petrels, its walking ability is limited to a short shuffle to the burrow. This endangered species
nests in colonies in burrow
s in spring and autumn. It lays a single white egg
.
Seabird
Seabirds are birds that have adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same environmental problems and feeding niches have resulted in similar adaptations...
in the gadfly petrel
Gadfly petrel
The gadfly petrels are seabirds in the bird order Procellariiformes. These medium to large petrels feed on food items picked from the ocean surface....
genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
, Pterodroma. It was previously considered to be a subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
of the Soft-plumaged Petrel
Soft-plumaged Petrel
The Soft-plumaged Petrel is a species of seabird in the Procellariidae family.-Distribution:It breeds on islands in the Southern Hemisphere, nesting on Tristan da Cunha, Gough Island, the Prince Edward Islands, Crozet Islands, Macquarie Island, and on the Antipodes Islands of New Zealand. Small...
, P. mollis, but they are actually not closely related at all. However, P. feae is very closely related to Zino's Petrel
Zino's Petrel
The Zino's Petrel or Freira, Pterodroma madeira, is a small seabird in the gadfly petrel genus which is endemic to the island of Madeira. This long-winged petrel has a grey back and wings, with a dark "W" marking across the wings, and a grey upper tail...
and Deserta's Petrel
Deserta's Petrel
The Desertas Petrel is a small seabird in the gadfly petrel genus which breeds on Bugio Island in the Desertas off Madeira. The gadfly petrels in the genus Pterodroma are seabirds of temperate and tropical oceans. Many are little-known, and their often similar appearance have caused the taxonomy...
, two other species recently split from P. mollis.
Taxonomy
The gadfly petrels in the genus Pterodroma are seabirds of temperate and tropical oceans. Many are little-known and poorly studied, and their often similar appearance has meant that the taxonomy of the group has been rather fluid. The forms breeding in Macaronesia on Madeira, BugioBugio Island
Bugio Island is one of the Desertas Islands, a small chain of islands in the archipelago of Madeira, located to the southeast of the island of Madeira....
in the Desertas Islands
Desertas Islands
The Desertas Islands are a small Portuguese archipelago, located about 25 km to the southeast of Ponta de São Lourenço, the eastern tip of the island of Madeira, the whole chain located roughly between Madeira and the Canary Islands.-Geography:...
, and in the Cape Verde
Cape Verde
The Republic of Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa...
archipelago were long considered to be subspecies of the southern hemisphere Soft-plumaged Petrel P. mollis, but differences in size, vocalisations, breeding behaviour and mitochondriaal DNA analysis showed that the northern birds are not closely related to P. mollis, and that the Bermuda Petrel
Bermuda Petrel
The Bermuda Petrel, Pterodroma cahow, is a gadfly petrel. Commonly known in Bermuda as the Cahow, a name derived from its eerie cries, this nocturnal ground-nesting seabird is the national bird of Bermuda, and a symbol of hope for nature conservation. It was thought extinct for 330 years...
or Cahow may be the closest relative of the Macaronesian birds. Sangster recommended establishing Zino's Petrel on Madeira and Fea's Petrel on the Desertas and Cape Verde as full species, and the species split was accepted by the Association of European Rarities Committees
Association of European Rarities Committees
The Association of European Rarities Committees is a co-ordinating and liaison body for the bird rarities committees of Europe and other nearby countries.It was created in 1993 at a meeting of European rarities committees on the German island of Heligoland....
(AERC) in 2003. More recently, some authorities have further split Fea's Petrel, separating the Desertas Islands
Desertas Islands
The Desertas Islands are a small Portuguese archipelago, located about 25 km to the southeast of Ponta de São Lourenço, the eastern tip of the island of Madeira, the whole chain located roughly between Madeira and the Canary Islands.-Geography:...
breeding birds from those in the Cape Verde
Cape Verde
The Republic of Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa...
archipelago.
Sangster estimated that the two Macaronesian species they diverged at the end of the Early Pleistocene
Early Pleistocene
Calabrian is a subdivision of the Pleistocene Epoch of the Geologic time scale. ~1.8 Ma.—781,000 years ago ± 5,000 years, a period of ~.The end of the stage is defined by the last magnetic pole reversal and plunge in to an ice age and global drying possibly colder and drier than the late Miocene ...
, 850,000 years ago, although the methodology used to establish this time scale has subsequently been questioned. An analysis of feather lice from Fea's Petrel's Pterodroma feae deserti from Bugio Island and Zino's Petrels from the Madeiran mainland showed that there were marked differences between the two seabirds in terms of the parasites they carried, suggesting that they have long been isolated, since lice can normally only be transferred through physical contact in the nest. The species on Zino's Petrel are most similar to those of the Bermuda Petrel, whereas Fea's Petrel's lice are like those of Caribbean and Pacific Pterodromas This suggests that despite the close physical proximity of the two species of gadfly petrel found in the Madeiran archipelago, they may have arisen from separate colonisations of mainland Madeira and, later, the Desertas Islands
Desertas Islands
The Desertas Islands are a small Portuguese archipelago, located about 25 km to the southeast of Ponta de São Lourenço, the eastern tip of the island of Madeira, the whole chain located roughly between Madeira and the Canary Islands.-Geography:...
.
This bird is named after the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
zoologist Leonardo Fea
Leonardo Fea
Leonardo Fea was an Italian explorer, zoologist, painter and naturalist.Fea was born in Turin, and became an assistant at the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Genova the Museum of Natural History in Genoa...
.
Description
This long-winged petrel is 33–36 cm in length with an 86–94 cm wingspan. It has a grey back and wings, with a dark "W" marking across the wings. The undersides of the wings are dark and the belly is white. It has a fast impetuous flight. It picks planktonPlankton
Plankton are any drifting organisms that inhabit the pelagic zone of oceans, seas, or bodies of fresh water. That is, plankton are defined by their ecological niche rather than phylogenetic or taxonomic classification...
ic food items from the ocean
Ocean
An ocean is a major body of saline water, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, a continuous body of water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas.More than half of this area is over 3,000...
surface. This species is very similar to the Zino's Petrel
Zino's Petrel
The Zino's Petrel or Freira, Pterodroma madeira, is a small seabird in the gadfly petrel genus which is endemic to the island of Madeira. This long-winged petrel has a grey back and wings, with a dark "W" marking across the wings, and a grey upper tail...
, but is larger and has a thicker black bill.
As all three of species in the Pterodroma feae/madeira/desertae complex were once believed to be subspecies of a single species: Pterodroma mollis. Well-understood is the extreme difficulty in telling them apart. A summary of data from a morphological study sheds light on the issue:
- In overall size feae is closer to deserta and both are bigger than madeira (wing length - f:262, d: 264, m: 248; tarsus - f:34.7, d: 35.2, m: 32.7).
- Bill length once again similar in feae and deserta and both larger than madeira (f:29.0, d: 28.6, m: 26.3).
- Bill depth by far biggest in deserta, lowest in madeira, and intermediate in feae (f:11.9, d: 12.9, m: 10.5).
In terms of ratios:
- (Bill length/wing length) (f:11.1%, d: 10.8%, m: 10.6%) is rather similar in the three taxa.
- (Bill length/bill depth) (f: 2.44, d: 2.22, m: 2.53) is lowest in deserta, and highest in madeira. In feae it is intermediate, but more than twice closer to madeira than to deserta.
Distribution and habitat
It breeds in the north AtlanticAtlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
in the Cape Verde Islands and Madeira Islands (Bugio Island
Bugio Island
Bugio Island is one of the Desertas Islands, a small chain of islands in the archipelago of Madeira, located to the southeast of the island of Madeira....
).
Pterodroma feae/madeira records in the US
It is a rare visitor to waters off the eastern US, though known only from sight records and photographs. The American Ornithologists' UnionAmerican Ornithologists' Union
The American Ornithologists' Union is an ornithological organization in the USA. Unlike the National Audubon Society, its members are primarily professional ornithologists rather than amateur birders...
has not accepted these records, and the American Birding Association
American Birding Association
The American Birding Association is a non-profit organization of people interested in birding. Begun in 1968, the ABA is the only organization in North America that specifically caters to recreational birders. Membership is open to all...
has accepted them only as "Fea's/Zino's Petrel".
Pterodroma feae/madeira records in Europe
It is also an extremely rare vagrant to western Europe, principally Great BritainGreat Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
and Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, though most records there are also acceptable only as "Fea's/ Zino's", with the exception of three at-sea records in British waters.
Reproduction
This seabirdSeabird
Seabirds are birds that have adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same environmental problems and feeding niches have resulted in similar adaptations...
is strictly nocturnal at the breeding sites to avoid predation by gull
Gull
Gulls are birds in the family Laridae. They are most closely related to the terns and only distantly related to auks, skimmers, and more distantly to the waders...
s. Like most petrels, its walking ability is limited to a short shuffle to the burrow. This endangered species
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
nests in colonies in burrow
Burrow
A burrow is a hole or tunnel dug into the ground by an animal to create a space suitable for habitation, temporary refuge, or as a byproduct of locomotion. Burrows provide a form of shelter against predation and exposure to the elements, so the burrowing way of life is quite popular among the...
s in spring and autumn. It lays a single white egg
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
.
External links
- Madeira Birds: Fea's Petrel
- VIREO Six images
- Flicker Field Guide Birds of the World Photographs