Dove prion, Totorore
The Antarctic prion (Pachyptila desolata ) also known as the dove prion, or totorore in Māori, is the largest of the prions, a genus of small petrels of the Southern Ocean.
Pachyptila, the word, comes from the Greek words pakhus and ptilon. Pakhus means "thick" or "stout" and ptilon means "a feather". Desolatus is Latin for "forsaken" or "desolate". This is in reference to the desolate Antarctic region where they live. Also from the Greek language, prion comes from the word priōn meaning "a saw", in reference to the serrated edges of its bill.
The wingspan is 17 to 20 cm (6.7 to 7.9 in), while the body length is 28 cm (11 in). Like all prions, its underparts are white and upperparts are blue-grey, with a dark "M" across its back to its wingtips. It has a white eyebrow, blue-grey bill, and blue feet. It also has a grey wedge-shaped tail with a black tip. On its wings, its greater coverts are near black.
It breeds in colonies on the Auckland Islands, Heard Island, Macquarie Island, Scott Island, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, the South Orkney Islands, South Shetland Islands, Crozet Islands, and the Kerguelen Islands. When not breeding, it ranges throughout the southern oceans.
Like all prions, the Antarctic prion eats primarily zooplankton, which it obtains by filtering water through its upper bill.
The Antarctic prion nests in colonies, and prefers islands in the Southern ocean. Both sexes assist in building the nest, as well as incubating the single egg and raising the chick.
