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ÃŽle De L'Est
ÃŽle de l'Est, or East Island, is a part of the subantarctic archipelago of the Crozet Islands. With an area of it is the second largest island of the group. It is part of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands. Description The island is the easternmost of the archipelago, lying about east of ÃŽle de la Possession (Possession Island). The landscape is mainly bare rock; it is the most mountainous in the archipelago, with a high point of , and a rugged coastline of high cliffs. It is dissected by several steep-sided valleys of glacial origin. The only introduced animals are rabbits. There is no human infrastructure; it is only occasionally visited by researchers. Important Bird Area The island has been identified as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International as a breeding site for seabirds. Key species include king, gentoo, macaroni and northern rockhopper penguins, wandering, grey-headed, light-mantled, sooty and black-browed albatrosses, both northern and s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crozet Islands
The Crozet Islands (; or, officially, ''Archipel Crozet'') are a sub-Antarctic archipelago of small islands in the southern Indian Ocean. They form one of the five administrative districts of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands. History Discovery and early history The Crozet Islands were discovered on 24 January 1772, by the expedition of French explorer Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne, aboard ''Le Mascarin''. His second-in-command, Julien-Marie Crozet, landed on ÃŽle de la Possession, claiming the archipelago for France. In 1776, Crozet met James Cook at Cape Town, at the start of Cook's third voyage. Crozet shared the charts of his ill-fated expedition, and as Cook sailed eastward, he stopped at the islands, naming the western group ''Marion'' and the eastern group ''Crozet''. In the following years, sealers visiting the islands referred to both the eastern and western groups as the Crozet Islands, and Marion Island became the name of the larger of the two Prince Edward ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sooty Albatross
The sooty albatross (''Phoebetria fusca''), also known to sailors as the Quaker, is a species of marine bird belonging to the albatross family Diomedeidae. It is a medium-sized albatross that sports a sooty-brown or sooty-black color. It can be found in the southern Atlantic Ocean, the southern Indian Ocean, and the Southern Ocean. This bird scavenges for squid, fish, and carrion. Like other albatrosses, these birds mate for life and return to the same breeding spots every season. A single pair will mate every other year on a variety of islands in the southern Atlantic Ocean and the southern Indian Ocean islands. This bird is an endangered species and conservation efforts are taking place. Taxonomy The sooty albatross belongs to the genus '' Phoebetria'' of which there are two species: '' P. palpebrata'' (Foster, 1785) and ''P. fusca'' (Hilsenberg, 1822). The two species were discovered separately but were not placed in the same genus until 1913, which was later confirmed by cy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grey-backed Storm Petrel
The grey-backed storm petrel (''Garrodia nereis'') is a species of seabird in the austral storm petrel family Oceanitidae. It is monotypic within the genus ''Garrodia''. It is found in Antarctica, Argentina, Australia, Chile, Falkland Islands, French Southern Territories, New Zealand, Saint Helena, South Africa, and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. Its natural habitat is open seas. It is highly attracted to bright lights, especially in conditions of low visibility. Taxonomy The genus ''Garrodia'' was created by William Alexander Forbes in 1881 and named after English zoologist Alfred Henry Garrod, while the specific descriptor is an allusion to the Nereids, the sea nymphs of Greek mythology. Description Grey-backed storm petrel is a small bird, 21-44 g in weight with a 39-40 cm wingspan. Like others in its family it is dark grey overall with a black head and belly, but it can be distinguished from other storm-petrels in its range by its light grey rump compared ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wilson's Storm Petrel
Wilson's storm petrel (''Oceanites oceanicus''), also known as Wilson's petrel, is a small seabird of the austral storm petrel family Oceanitidae. It is one of the most abundant bird species in the world and has a circumpolar distribution mainly in the seas of the southern hemisphere but extending northwards during the summer of the northern hemisphere. The world population was estimated in 2022 as stable at 8 to 20 million birds. In 2010 it had been estimated at 12–30 million. A 1998 book had estimated more than 50 million pairs. The name commemorates the Scottish-American ornithologist Alexander Wilson (ornithologist), Alexander Wilson. The genus name ''Oceanites'' refers to the mythical Oceanids, the three thousand daughters of Tethys (mythology), Tethys. The species name is from Latin ''oceanus'', "ocean". Taxonomy Originally described in the genus ''Procellaria'' it has been placed under the genus ''Oceanites''. Two or three subspecies are recognized and one population '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kerguelen Petrel
The Kerguelen petrel (''Aphrodroma brevirostris'') is a small (36 cm long) slate-grey seabird in the family Procellariidae. It is the only species placed in the genus ''Aphrodroma''. It is a pelagic, circumpolar seabird of the Southern Ocean. It breeds on islands in the southern Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Taxonomy The Kerguelen petrel was formally described in 1831 by the French naturalist René Lesson. He placed it in the genus ''Procellaria'' that had been erected for the petrels by Carl Linnaeus in 1758 and coined the binomial name ''Procellaria brevirostris''. The Kerguelen petrel was formerly included with the gadfly petrels in the genus '' Pterodroma'' and later in the monotypic genre ''Lugensa'' but is now placed in the genus ''Aphrodroma'' that was introduced for the Kerguelen petrel by Storrs L. Olson in 2000. The name ''Aphrodroma'' combines the Ancient Greek ''aphros'' meaning "sea foam" with ''-dromos'' meaning "-racer".The specific epithet ''brevirostris'' is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blue Petrel
The blue petrel (''Halobaena caerulea'') is a small seabird in the shearwater and petrel family (biology), family, Procellariidae. This small petrel is the only member of the genus ''Halobaena'', but is closely allied to the prion (bird), prions. It is distributed across the Southern Ocean but breeds at a few island sites, all close to the Antarctic Convergence zone. Taxonomy The blue petrel was first described in 1777 by the German naturalist Georg Forster in his book ''A Voyage Round the World''. He had accompanied James Cook on Cook's Second voyage of James Cook, second voyage to the Pacific. Forster did not give the blue petrel a binomial name, but when the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin updated Carl Linnaeus's ''Systema Naturae'' in 1789 he included a brief description of the bird, coined the binomial name ''Procellaria caerulea'' and cited Forster's book. The blue petrel is now the only species placed in the genus ''Halobaena'' that was introduced for the blue pet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
White-chinned Petrel
The white-chinned petrel (''Procellaria aequinoctialis'') also known as the Cape hen and shoemaker, is a large shearwater in the family Procellariidae. It ranges around the Southern Ocean as far north as southern Australia, Peru and Namibia, and breeds colonially on scattered islands. The white-chinned petrel was formerly considered to be conspecific with the spectacled petrel (''Procellaria conspicillata''). Taxonomy In 1747 the English naturalist George Edwards included an illustration and a description of the white-chinned petrel in the second volume of his ''A Natural History of Uncommon Birds''. He used the English name "The great Black Peteril" and based his hand-coloured etching on a preserved specimen that had been brought to London. He believed that it had been collected near the Cape of Good Hope. When in 1758 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his ''Systema Naturae'' for the tenth edition, he placed the white-chinned petrel with the other petrels in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soft-plumaged Petrel
The soft-plumaged petrel (''Pterodroma mollis'') is a species of seabird in the family Procellariidae. 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 numbers breed in the Maatsuyker Island Group of southern Tasmania. It disperses outside the breeding season, reaching eastern South America north to Brazil, southern Africa and Australia. It has occurred as a vagrant in Israel, Norway and Jordan. Taxonomy Fea's petrel (''P. feae''), Desertas petrel (''P. desertae'') and Zino's petrel (''P. madeira'') of the North Atlantic were formerly treated as subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ... of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fairy Prion
The fairy prion (''Pachyptila turtur'') is a small seabird with the standard prion plumage of blue-grey upperparts with a prominent dark "M" marking and white underneath. The sexes are alike. It is a small prion which frequents the low subantarctic and subtropic seas. Taxonomy The fairy prion was formally described in 1820 by the German naturalist Heinrich Kuhl under the binomial name ''Procellaria turtur''. It is now placed with the other prions in the genus ''Pachyptila'', introduced in 1811 by Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek ''pakhus '', meaning "dense" or "thick", with ''ptilon'', meaning "feather" or "plumage". The specific epithet ''turtur'' is Latin for " turtle dove". The word comes from the Ancient Greek word , meaning "a saw", which refers to the serrated edges of its bill. The fairy prion is a member of the genus ''Pachyptila'' and of the subgenus ''Pseudoprion'' Coues, 1866. Along with the blue petrel, they make up the prions. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Medium-billed Prion
Salvin's prion (''Pachyptila salvini''), also known as the medium-billed prion, is a species of seabird in the petrel family Procellariidae. Taxonomy Salvin's prion is a member of the genus ''Pachyptila'' and of the subgenus ''Salviprion'' Mathews, 1943. Along with the blue petrel, they make up the prions. They in turn are members of the family Procellariidae, and the order Procellariiformes. The prions are small and typically eat just zooplankton;Maynard, B. J. (2003) however as a member of the Procellariiformes, they share certain identifying features. First, they have nasal passages that attach to the upper bill called naricorns. Although the nostrils on the prion are on top of the upper bill. The bills of Procellariiformes are also unique in that they are split into between 7 and 9 horny plates. They produce a stomach oil made up of wax esters and triglycerides that is stored in the proventriculus. This is used against predators as well as an energy rich food source for chic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
