The ashy storm petrel (Hydrobates homochroa ) is a small, scarce seabird of the storm petrel family Hydrobatidae. It breeds colonially on islands off the coasts of California and Mexico, and is one of six species of storm petrel that live and feed in the rich California Current system.
A piscivore is a carnivorous animal that eats primarily fish. Piscivorous is equivalent to the Greek-derived word ichthyophagous. Fish were the die...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
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CongregatoryCongregatory animals tend to gather in large numbers in specific areas as breeding colonies, for feeding, or for resting.
Oviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
Precocial species are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. Precocial species are normall...
A burrow is a hole or tunnel excavated into the ground by an animal to create a space suitable for habitation, temporary refuge, or as a byproduct ...
Soaring birds can maintain flight without wing flapping, using rising air currents. Many gliding birds are able to "lock" their extended wings by m...
Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, b...
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SocialFlocking birds are those that tend to gather to forage or travel collectively. Avian flocks are typically associated with migration. Flocking also ...
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MigratingAnimal migration is the relatively long-distance movement of individual animals, usually on a seasonal basis. It is the most common form of migrati...
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This is a small, uniformly sooty-brown storm petrel with a forked tail, closely resembling the black storm petrel, but it is smaller and has a more fluttering style of flight, with the upstroke only becoming horizontal to the body before beginning the downstroke (other storm petrels in its range have a higher upstroke).
It is a gregarious bird at sea, feeding nocturnally on cephalopods, fish (particularly the deep-sea myctophids, which rise to the sea's surface at night) and euphausiid krill such as Thysanoessa spinifera, which also swarm at the surface. They also attend fishing vessels for the fish oils released when the nets are pulled.
Ashy storm petrels nest in rock burrows on offshore islands, returning to the nests at night. The species has a long breeding cycle, laying eggs in May and fledging in October, although timing varies greatly, more so than in most other storm petrels; some pairs may have a chick that is half grown when other pairs are still laying. Like in many other seabirds, pairs show both mate and site fidelity, mating in the same pair with the same mate for many years and nesting at the same burrow, despite the pairs spending their lives out of the breeding season separate from each other, and despite the fact that many individuals might seem to compete for burrows at the nesting colonies. A change in mate is usually associated with a change in nesting site.
The ashy storm petrel is a long-lived bird; a banded individual has lived at least 31 years.
Social animals are those animals that interact highly with other animals, usually of their own species (conspecifics), to the point of having a rec...