From Opus

Alternative name(s): Giant Petrel, Southern Giant Petrel

Adult. Photo by derekh42

Macronectes giganteus

[edit] Identification

90 cm. Has a massive pale yellowish tubenose bill with green tints, especially at the tip. Dark birds differ from Hall's Giant Petrel by having a paler head and always having a pale leading edge to the "arm". Young birds are uniformly dark, but become paler with age. There is a white morph, referred to as the White Nellie.

[edit] Distribution

Southern oceans, including Pacific and Atlantic sides of South America, and around peninsula of Antarctica.

Immature. Photo by Gary Clark
Location: At sea off the coast of Chile.

[edit] Taxonomy

Monotypic^[1]

[edit] Habitat

Open ocean and coastal shorelines.

[edit] Behaviour

Follows ships in hopes of snaring garbage thrown overboard.

[edit] Diet

Includes carrion, particularly that of seals and penguins, on land, whilst at sea they feed on krill, squid and fish.

[edit] Breeding

It builds a rough nest off the ground and 1 egg is laid, and then incubated for about 60 days. The chick is brooded for 3 weeks. Chicks fledge after about 4 months.

White Nellie Phase.
Photo by Gary Clark
Location: Palmer Station, Antarctica.

[edit] References

1. Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist.
2. De la Peña & Rumboll, 1998. Birds of Southern South America and Antarctica. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-09035-1

[edit] External Links