Petrels are tube-nosed in the phylogenetic order Procellariiformes.
Description
Petrels are a
monophyletic group of marine seabirds, sharing a characteristic of a nostril arrangement that results in the name "tubenoses".
Petrels encompass three of the four extant families within the Procellariiformes order, namely
Procellariidae (fulmarine petrels, gadfly petrels, diving petrels, prions, and shearwaters),
Hydrobatidae (northern storm petrels), and
Oceanitidae (austral storm petrels). The remaining family in Procellariiformes is the
albatross family, Diomedeidae.
Etymology
The word
petrel (first recorded in that spelling 1703) comes from earlier (
ca. 1670)
pitteral; the English explorer
William Dampier wrote the bird was so called from its way of flying with its feet just skimming the surface of the water, recalling
Saint Peter's walk on the sea of Galilee (Matthew xiv.28); if so, it likely was formed in English as a diminutive of Peter (< Old (?) < Late < Late < < = "stone").
Known species
All the members of the order are exclusively
pelagic in distribution—returning to land only to breed.
The family Procellariidae is the main radiation of medium-sized true petrels, characterised by united nostrils with medium septum, and a long outer functional primary feather. It is dominant in the , but not so in the Northern Hemisphere.
It includes a number of petrel groups, the relationships between which have finally been resolved to satisfaction.[
]
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The fulmarine petrels: seven species of surface predators and , breed in high latitudes but bird migration along cool currents to the north. All but Fulmarus are essentially confined to the south, Fulmarus apparently colonised the Northern Hemisphere during the Early Miocene.
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The prions: A specialised group of a few very numerous species, all southern. They have a small, fulmar-like form and mostly filter-feed on zooplankton.
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The procellariine petrels, larger or mid-sized species feeding on fish and molluscs which are fairly close to the prions:
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: There are numerous species in several genera with a medium number of species.
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The : These are a considerable number of agile short-billed petrels in the genus Pterodroma which include the endangered Bermuda petrel (or cahow) and a considerable number of forms rendered extinct by human activity.
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The : These are the four species of auk-like small petrels of the southern oceans in the genus Pelacanoides.
The family Oceanitidae is the austral (or southern) storm petrels, and the family Hydrobatidae is the northern storm petrels. Collectively, they are known as the storm petrels, small pelagic petrels with a fluttering flight which often follow ships.
In culture
Petrels are culturally significant, and well-known poems have been written about the bird. One such example is given here.
See also
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Skua
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Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels
External links
