Common Diving-Petrel (Pelecanoides urinatrix)

Other Names (World)
Common Diving-Petrel, Diving Petrel, Smaller Diving Petrel, Falkland Diving petrel (berard), Berard's Diving petrel (berard), Kerguelen Diving petrel (exsul), Subantarctic Diving petrel (exsul), Tristan Diving petrel (remaining subspecies), Common Diving Petrel

Family
Procellariidae (Petrels, Shearwaters)

Size
20 - 25 cm
Wingspan: 40 cm

First Described (Guide)
(Gmelin, 1789)

Derivation
Pel'-e-can-öïd'-ës - Gk, pelecan, pelican; -oides, from Gk, eidos, form = like: ü-rï-nä'-trix - L., diver (feminine form)

Abundance (Guide)
LA - C

Locally abundant and common round Australia.

Habitat
Circumpolar, from sub-tropical waters north of sub-tropical Convergence to sub-Antarctic waters north of Antarctic Convergence. Inshore waters around breeding islands.

Range (Guide)

Argentina, Australia (B), Chile (B), Falkland Islands (Malvinas), French Southern Territories (B), Heard Island and McDonald Islands (B), New Zealand (B), South Africa, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (B), St Helena, Uruguay (NB).

Vagrant to Antarctica.

Breeds at various sub-Antarctic islands, including Macquarie and Heard Islands, and at various islands in Bass Strait and off Tasmania.

Rarity Status
View Rarity Status Information

Population
Estimated population is 16,000,000 (2010).

Status LC
Probably secure.

For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Food
Small fish and other marine life.

Voice
A moaning whistle 'ku, ku-aa', the pitch of each soft call rising on the third syllable, in colonies. Also loud nasal braying 'kuaka-did-a-did' and variations, in display flight and on the ground. Silent when at sea.

(27Kb) © ? (1)

Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (5)...)

Common Diving Petrel (Pelecanoides urinatrix) [XC555357]
by Chris Taylor from Mayes, France (call)

Common Diving Petrel (Pelecanoides urinatrix) [XC332461]
by Hichem MACHOUK from Meterological Station, Gough Island, United Kingdom (flight call)

Breeding Season (Guide)
July - December, extending to March in sub-antarctica.

Nest
A chamber at the end of a crooked burrow. In colonies.

Eggs (Guide)
1; white; oval; about 38 x 30 mm. Incubation: about 55 days; by both sexes.

Young
Semi-altricial, nidicolous. Fledging in about 47 - 58 days.

Subspecies
Subspecies exsul and berard sometimes considered distinct species.

The following 6 subspecies are recognised:

urinatrix (Gmelin, 1789) - South-eastern Australia and Tasmania to northern New Zealand.
chathamensis Murphy & Harper, 1916 - Southern New Zealand.
exsul Salvin, 1896 - South Georgia east to Antipodes Is.
dacunhae Nicoll, 1906 - Tristan da Cunha, Gough I.
berard (Gaimard, 1823) - Falkland Is.
coppingeri Mathews, 1912 - Suspected to breed in southern Chile.

Similar Species
South Georgian Diving-Petrel (Pelecanoides georgicus), especially at sea.

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:

JPG files for Common Diving-Petrel (Pelecanoides urinatrix) - 10 files

MP3 files for Common Diving-Petrel (Pelecanoides urinatrix) - 1 files

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