| Species Details [Taxonomy: HBW - BirdLife (v3)] |
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Great-winged Petrel* |
Id (Atlas): |
075 |
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Pterodroma macroptera |
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Description (10)
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Great-winged Petrel
© flickr.com
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Other Names (World)
Great-winged Petrel, Great-winged Fulmar, Grey-faced Petrel, Gray-faced Petrel, Grey-faced Fulmar, Gray-faced Fulmar, Long-winged Petrel, Long-winged Fulmar, Muttonbird
Family
Procellariidae (Petrels, Shearwaters)
Size
38 - 43 cm
Wingspan: 100 cm
First Described (Guide)
(Smith, 1840)
Derivation
Pter-o'-drom'-a - Gk, pteron, wing; Gk, dromos, race, running: mac-rop'-ter-a - Gk, macros, large; Gk, pteron, wing
Abundance (Guide)
LA - C
Locally abundant and common.
Habitat
Marine, pelagic, in sub-tropical, sub-Antarctic and, less often, in open Antarctic waters.
Australia, French Southern Territories (B), Mozambique, Namibia, New Zealand (B), South Africa (B), South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, St Helena (B).
Vagrant to Antarctica, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), USA.
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Breeds at islands in the sub-Antarctic, the south Atlantic, around New Zealand and along the southern coast of Western Australia.
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Rarity Status
Currently this species is not classified as a rarity in this country OR information has not been updated.
Population
Estimated population is 1,500,000 (2010).
Status LC
Probably secure.
For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.
Food
Fish, squid and other marine life.
Voice
Staccato and squeaky 'jit-jit-jit-jit' in display flight, often preceded by a mellow whistle. Sibilant 'si-si-si' and 'ee-aw' bray in greeting and courtship on ground. Young chirrup, whistle when older, and hiss in threat.
 (45Kb) © ? (1)
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Breeding Season (Guide)
From May - November, but usually May - early July in WA.
Nest
Either on the surface, between rocks and roots of trees, or in chamber at the end of a burrow, lined with a few leaves. In loose colonies.
Eggs (Guide)
1; white, minutely pitted; swollen oval; about 66 x 47 mm. Incubation: 53 - 56 days; by both sexes. No replacement laying.
Young
Semi-altricial, nidicolous. Fledge in about 130 days. Tended by both parents.
Subspecies
Has been considered conspecific with White-headed Petrel (Pterodroma lessonii).
The following 2 subspecies are recognised:
- macroptera (Smith, 1840) - Subantarctic from Tristan da Cunha east to Kerguelen Is; south-western Australia.
- gouldi (Hutton, 1869) - North I (New Zealand). Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Grey-faced Petrel (Pterodroma gouldi).
Similar Species
Providence Petrel (Pterodroma solandri), which is greyer, with shadowy mark across upperwings, on underwing, white patch on base of primaries, dark morph of Kermadec Petrel (Pterodroma neglecta), which is more compact, and has white wing patch, visible both from above and below, and pink feet, and Kerguelen Petrel (Aphrodroma brevirostris), which is smaller and greyer and has a pale inner leading edge, darker wing-linings, and a sivler sheen to the underside of the primaries.
Compare Images
References
See References.
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9
Files:
 
BirdLife International
For more information about the Great-winged Petrel see...  BirdLife International Species Factsheet.
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