Basic Information
Scientific classification
- Chinese name: White-faced petrel
- Scientific name: Pelagodroma marina, White-faced Storm Petrel
- Classification: Waterfowl
- Family and genus: Procellariiformes, Petrelidae, Genus: White-faced Petrel
Vital signs data
- Body length: 13-26 cm
- Weight: 25-68g
- Lifespan: Approximately 25 years
Significant features
Distribution and Habitat
Distributed in North America (including the United States, Canada, Greenland, Bermuda, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, and the transitional zone between North and Central America within Mexico), Eurasia and North Africa (including all of Europe, Africa north of the Tropic of Cancer, the Arabian Peninsula, and Asia north of the Himalayas-Hengduan Mountains-Minshan Mountains-Qinling Mountains-Huaihe River), Central and Southern Africa (including the southern Arabian Peninsula and the entire African continent south of the Sahara Desert (Tropic of Cancer),) and South America (including Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil, Chile, and Argentina). The following islands are included: Uruguay and the Falkland Islands (also known as the Malvinas Islands); the Galapagos Islands (also known as the Galapagos Islands); the Indian subcontinent and southwestern China (including India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sikkim, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and southeastern Tibet, China); the Pacific Islands (including Taiwan, the Dongsha Islands, Xisha Islands, Zhongsha Islands, and Nansha Islands of China, as well as the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, Sumatra and Java of Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea); and Australia and New Zealand (including Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania, and their surrounding islands).
Appearance
The plumage is highly variable in color (some species exhibit several color variations), with rounded wings; long legs that often droop, as they hop or walk on the sea surface when foraging. Southern petrels have evolved shorter, more rounded wings, likely to cope with the strong winds of the Southern Ocean. Size measurements: body length 13–26 cm; wingspan 32–56 cm; weight 25–68 g.
Detailed introduction
The White-faced Storm Petrel, scientifically known as *Pelagodroma marina*, is a gregarious bird. Whether in nesting areas or at sea, they mostly move in small or loose groups, although some species may act alone. They spend their entire lives at sea, returning to land only for breeding. Except for a few species that come ashore during the day, most return to their nests after dark to reduce predation by gulls, skuas, crows, and birds of prey. They commonly fly close to the sea surface, agile as swallows, sometimes touching the water with their feet as if walking on water. Occasionally, they dive into the water to catch prey, but quickly leap out again. They rarely rest on the surface.
The white-faced petrel has a small mouth and can only prey on small fish and squid, krill, and other planktonic creatures that float on the surface of the sea. It often splashes water with its feet or shakes the water with its feet to catch disturbed planktonic animals and small fish. Sometimes it will also follow fishing boats, whale and dolphin pods, or schools of fish to catch fleeing small fish.
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