Visual Search | Wizard | Browse
Bird name:
Home| Search| Browser| Expert| Forum| Store| My WhatBird| Help| Site Map

Herald Petrel

Pterodroma arminjonianaOrder: PROCELLARIIFORMES Family: Petrels and Shearwaters (Procellariidae)
Codes: Common Name: HEPE Scientific Name: PTEARM ITIS Taxonomic No.: 174570
Unknown
 
Herald Petrel
Copyright © 2004 - 2008 Whatbird.com






Rate this Illustration: Excellent Very Good Good
Fair Below Avg Poor

Birdman Mel's Backyard Tips
Jelly Jar Jelly Feeder
The orange "blossum" replaces the lid of a jelly jar.
Attract Orioles with Fruit
Sliced orange secures easily to the center of the ring. Low cost.
Attract with Nectar
Hex shaped nectar feeds several Orioles. Nectar kept in fridge.
Charm and Attraction
Lovely copper umbrella keeps fruit cool and looks great.

Overview

Herald Petrel: Medium petrel, three color morphs: light, intermediate, dark. Dark morph is dark gray overall, silver-gray to white base on underwing flight feathers. Light morph has white breast, belly and dark gray upperparts. Intermediate forms exist between light and dark morphs. Gray legs, feet.

Range and Habitat

Herald Petrel: These birds prefer water below the Equator but were recorded as far north as North Carolina where it is a rare but regular visitor in late spring to late summer. It is known to breed on Raine Island and possibly other small cays in the Coral Sea, and forage in surrounding waters. This bird is mostly pelagic and spends its life at sea coming to nesting grounds only to breed. For breeding it chooses warm islands with soils suitable for nesting burrows.

Topo Map: Gull-like Body


Voice Text

"ki ki ki ki"

Interesting Facts

 There are separate populations of Herald Petrel, one occurring in the south Pacific, the other occurring in the south Atlantic.

 In May 2007, a Herald Petrel tagged on Raine Island in 1984 was observed off the coast of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. This greatly increases the known life span and range of the species.

 A group of petrels are collectively known as a "gallon" and a "tank" of petrels.


Bird Term Glossary



Author

Gary Owen Dick

Artist

Samira Belous

Splitbar
Range Map for Herald Petrel

.
Family
Species Pterodroma arminjoniana
Length14 - 16 Inches
Wingspan39 Inches

Herald Petrel

Herald Petrel: Medium petrel, three color morphs: light, intermediate, dark. Dark morph is dark gray overall, silver-gray to white base on underwing flight feathers. Light morph has white breast, belly and dark gray upperparts. Intermediate forms exist between light and dark morphs. Gray legs, feet.

● Song: "ki ki ki ki"

● Foraging & Feeding: Herald Petrel: This bird is mostly pelagic and spends the majority of its time at sea where it feeds on squid and crustaceans. When looking for food, it skims water, grabs prey with bill, and ingests while in flight.

● Breeding & nesting: Herald Petrel: One white egg is laid in a burrow which is excavated or cleaned out by both sexes. For their breeding grounds Herald petrels choose warm islands and do not line burrows with any nest materials. Incubation ranges from 49 to 54 days and is carried out by both parents.

● Similar species: Herald Petrel: Sooty Shearwater has light underwings, shorter tail, broader, more stout body, high forehead and a very different flight pattern. Murphy's Petrel has white at the base of its bill.

Flight Pattern

Fluttery wing beats alternate with glides., High erratic soaring arcs become higher and more dashing as wind speeds increase.
Herald Petrel Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Herald Petrel: These birds prefer water below the Equator but were recorded as far north as North Carolina where it is a rare but regular visitor in late spring to late summer. It is known to breed on Raine Island and possibly other small cays in the Coral Sea, and forage in surrounding waters. This bird is mostly pelagic and spends its life at sea coming to nesting grounds only to breed. For breeding it chooses warm islands with soils suitable for nesting burrows.
BreedingMonogamous
PopulationRare
MigrationMigratory
Weight5.7 Ounces
Gull-like BodyX
UpperpartsX
Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.
BellyX
The ventral part of the bird, or the area between the flanks on each side and the crissum and breast. Flight muscles are located between the belly and the breast.
BreastX
The upper front part of a bird.
Flight feathersX
Located on the wing, and collectively called remiges (singular, remex). The long stiff feathers are subdivided into two major groups based on the location and are called primaries and secondaries.
PelagicX
The pelagic is a type of bird whose habitat is on the open ocean rather than in a coastal region or on inland bodies of water (lakes, rivers). An example of a pelagic bird is the blacklegged kittiwake.
4 and 6 letter alpha codesX

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Read more...
ITIS CodesX

The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) was established in the mid-1990�s as a cooperative project among several federal agencies to improve and expand upon taxonomic data (known as the NODC Taxonomic Code) maintained by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

To find the ITIS page for a bird species go to the ITIS web site advanced search and report page at http://www.itis.gov/advanced_search.html. You can enter the TSN or the common name of the bird. It will return the ITIS page for that bird. Another way to obtain the ITIS page is to use the Google search engine. Enter the string ITIS followed by the taxonomic ID, for example "ITIS 178041" will return the page for the Allen's Hummingbird.

Read more...
Parts of a Standing birdX
Head Feathers and MarkingsX
Parts of a Flying birdX