Gadfly petrel
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Order: Procellariiformes
Family: Procellariidae
Genus: Pterodroma Bonaparte, 1856

[Photo] Black-capped Petrel, Pterodroma hasitata. Source: Flickr (www.flickr.com/photos/brewsterslinnet/823596782/). Date: May 27, 2007. Author: jforb (www.flickr.com/photos/brewsterslinnet/).

The gadfly petrels are seabirds in the bird order Procellariiformes. These medium to large petrels feed on food items picked from the ocean surface.

The short, sturdy bills of the Pterodroma species in this group, about 35 altogether, are adapted for soft prey taken at the surface; they have twisted intestines for digesting marine animals which have unusual biochemistries.

Their complex wing and face marking are probably for interspecific recognition.

These birds nest in colonies on islands and are pelagic when not breeding. One white egg is laid usually in a burrow or on open ground. They are nocturnal at the breeding colonies.

Species in taxonomic order
The taxonomy of the gadfly petrels is being reformed at the moment. Several genera have been split off over time, as they are closer to the procellarine and Puffinus shearwaters. Some subspecies have been raised to full species rank. The arrangement given here is traditional, but annotates the changes proposed by Austin (1998) and Bretagnolle et al. (1998). For the current taxonomy, see also Brooke (2004).

Genus Pterodroma
Barau's Petrel, Pterodroma baraui
Trinidade Petrel, Pterodroma arminjoniana
- Herald Petrel, Pterodroma (arminjoniana) heraldica
Juan Fernandez Petrel, Pterodroma externa
Kermadec Petrel, Pterodroma neglecta
Galapagos Petrel, Pterodroma phaeopygia
Hawaiian Petrel, Pterodroma sandwichensis
Henderson Petrel, Pterodroma atrata
Phoenix Petrel, Pterodroma alba
Fea's Petrel, Pterodroma feae
Zino's Petrel or Madeira Petrel, Pterodroma madeira
Canary Islands Petrel, Pterodroma sp. (prehistoric) - possibly extirpated population of extant species
Soft-plumaged Petrel, Pterodroma mollis
Bermuda Petrel, Pterodroma cahow
Black-capped Petrel, Pterodroma hasitata
Jamaica Petrel, Pterodroma caribbaea (probably extinct)
Atlantic Petrel, Pterodroma incerta
White-headed Petrel, Pterodroma lessonii
Magenta Petrel, Pterodroma magentae
Great-winged Petrel, Pterodroma macroptera
Providence Petrel, Pterodroma solandri
Murphy's Petrel, Pterodroma ultima
Mottled Petrel, Pterodroma inexpectata
Pycroft's Petrel, Pterodroma pycrofti
Stejneger's Petrel, Pterodroma longirostris
Collared Petrel, Pterodroma brevipes
Gould's Petrel, Pterodroma leucoptera
Mangareva Petrel, Pterodroma cf. leucoptera (possibly extinct)
Cook's Petrel, Pterodroma cookii
Mas a Tierra Petrel, Pterodroma defilippiana
Bonin Petrel, Pterodroma hypoleuca
White-necked Petrel, Pterodroma cervicalis
Falla's Petrel, Pterodroma occulta
Black-winged Petrel, Pterodroma nigripennis
Chatham Petrel, Pterodroma axillaris
Chatham Extinct Petrel, Pterodroma sp. (prehistoric)
Henderson Island Petrel, Pterodroma sp. (prehistoric)
O‘ahu Petrel, Pterodroma jugabilis (prehistoric)

Now Lugensa (allied to Puffinus)
Kerguelen Petrel, Pterodroma brevirostris

Now Pseudobulweria (allied to Puffinus)
Fiji Petrel Pterodroma macgillivrayi
Tahiti Petrel, Pterodroma rostrata
Beck's Petrel, Pterodroma becki
Mascarene Petrel, Pterodroma aterrima
St Helena Petrel, Pterodroma rupinarum (extinct)

A Pleistocene fossil from Aldabra, Indian Ocean, was described as Pterodroma kurodai. Biogeographically, it could belong into any genus.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gadfly_petrel

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