From Opus

Pachyptila belcheri

Alternative name: Thin-billed Prion

Photo by Gary Clark.
Location: Drake Passage, Argentina.

[edit] Identification

Length 26cm. Underparts white, back grey with conspicuous dark W on wings and back. Gray of back wraps partly around neck. Thin blue-grey bill, pale blue feet. White supercillium, darker lines above and below. Tail has black tip.

[edit] Distribution

Southern Ocean and around Antarctica, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Falkland Islands, French Southern Territories, Kenya, Mauritius, New Zealand, Peru, Saint Helena, South Africa, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, and Uruguay.

[edit] Taxonomy

This species is monotypic.^[1]

[edit] Habitat

Open sea and islands for breeding.

[edit] Behaviour

Diet: includes mainly crustaceans, with some fish and squid. It drinks seawater and has salt glands to get rid of extra salt. Breeding: This bird only goes to land to bring up its young. They nest in burrows under rocks or under low plants. One egg is laid and both parents look after the chick.

Photo by Gary Clark.
Location: Drake Passage, Argentina.

[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.

• List of references

[edit] External Links

• View more images of this species on the ABID