Family Petrels, Shearwaters (Procellariidae)
Endangered
Phoenix Petrel (Pterodroma alba)
Taxonomy
French: Pétrel à poitrine blanche German: Phönixsturmvogel Spanish: Petrel de las Fénix
Taxonomy:
Procellaria alba
J. F. Gmelin
, 1789,Turtle and Christmas Islands = Christmas Island
.Descriptive notes
35 cm; 219–339 g; wingspan 83 cm. Rather plain dark petrel with white abdomen. Fairly uniform blackish-brown upperparts; underwing dusky grey on remiges and... read more
Voice
Described as a shrill warble terminating in a bubbling, gurgling sound.
Habitat
Marine and pelagic; occurs near land at colonies, which it regularly visits by day and early... read more
Food and feeding
Mostly squid (75% of diet by volume) up to 6 kg in size and presumably scavenged when already dead, with some fish (14%), small quantities... read more
Breeding
Thought to breed in any month, with peak laying on Kiritimati (Christmas I) in Apr–Jun and Nov–Jan, and many fewer initiating... read more
Movements
Disperses over wide range of tropical Pacific, occurring N to 24° N at Hawaii and S to 30°... read more
Status and conservation
ENDANGERED. Previously regarded as Vulnerable. Total population previously placed at some tens of thousands of breeding pairs, then c. 10,000 pairs in late 1990s, but has... read more
Monotypic.