white-chinned petrel, Cape hen (Procellaria aequinoctialis) Description
White-chinned Petrel (Procellaria aequinoctialis), East of the Tasman Peninsula, Tasmania, Australia
Date 4 February 2012, 10:13:50
Author JJ Harrison (jjharrison89@facebook.com) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:JJ_Harrison
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Procellaria_aequinoctialis_1_-_SE_Tasmania.jpg
The white-chinned petrel or Cape hen, Procellaria aequinoctialis, is a large shearwater in the family Procellariidae. It ranges around the Southern Ocean as far north as southern Australia, Peru and Namibia, and breeds colonially on scattered islands. Procellaria comes from two Latin words, procella "storm" and arius "pertaining to", with reference to the birds' association with stormy weather. The word petrel is derived from Saint Peter and the story of his walking on water, referring to their appearing to run on the water's surface when taking to the air. Order: Procellariiformes, Family: Procellariidae, Genus: Procellaria, Species: Procellaria aequinoctialis Linnaeus, 1758.