From Opus

Photo by fdvn
13 n miles East of Noosa, Queensland, Australia, June 2007

Fregetta grallaria

[edit] Identification

Square cut tail, white forehead, face and underparts, broad dark mark through the eye, dark grey upperparts. Various colour phases have been observed, including a dark phase, having sooty plumage, with only the rump and belly showing white.

[edit] Distribution

Angola, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, French Polynesia, French Southern Territories, Maldives, Namibia, New Zealand, Saint Helena, South Africa, and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.

[edit] Taxonomy

Four subspecies recognized:

F. g. grallaria - Admiralty Islands, Lord Howe Island and The Kermadecs.

F. g. leucogaster - Tristan da Cunha Group, Gough Island and St Paul Island.

F. g. segethi - Juan Fernandez Islands.

F. g. titan - Rapa Island in the Austral Group.

[edit] Habitat

Open seas.

[edit] Behaviour

The nest consists of a chamber usually located amongst large rocks.

[edit] External Links

View more images of this species on the ABID