The grey-faced petrel (Pterodroma gouldi ) is a petrel endemic to the North Island of New Zealand. In New Zealand it is also known by its Māori name ōi and (along with other species such as the sooty shearwater) as a muttonbird.
A piscivore is a carnivorous animal that eats primarily fish. Piscivorous is equivalent to the Greek-derived word ichthyophagous. Fish were the die...
Scavengers are animals that consume dead organisms that have died from causes other than predation or have been killed by other predators. While sc...
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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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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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starts withGrey-faced petrels are large birds, with a body length of 42–45 cm and weighing on average 550 grams (19 oz). They have a dark black-brown colouration, similar to that of the black-footed albatross, with a black bill and pale grey to buff feathers at the base of the bill and throat. The wings are long and enable a buoyant style of flight. Grey-faced petrels are easily confused with Great-winged petrel (Pterodroma macroptera ) where their ranges overlap in the Tasman Sea, as these species are morphologically very similar.
The grey-faced petrel breeds only in the north of North Island, New Zealand. Colonies are largely found on offshore islands, although small remnant populations exist on the mainland at several sites, and birds are successfully breeding in areas with sufficient control of invasive mammalian predators such as rats, cats, and stoats. The largest breeding colony is found on Moutohora Island, with an estimated 95,000 breeding pairs. Outside of the breeding season, individuals range over the subtropical southwest Pacific Ocean, including Australia and Norfolk Island, keeping mainly in the area between 25 and 50 degrees south. Vagrants may occasionally enter Antarctic waters.
Grey-faced petrels typically hunt squid, fish, and crustaceans, but will sometimes scavenge this food. Grey-faced petrels mostly hunt at night, and as most of their prey are bioluminescent, it is suggested that they use these light cues to hunt.
The first grey-faced petrels begin returning to the colonies from mid-March but most birds don't start cleaning out their breeding burrows until April. Courtship peaks from late-April to mid-May. The breeding pair then depart on a pre-laying exodus that ranges from 50-70 days for females as they form their large single egg. The first eggs are laid from mid-June but laying peaks in the first 10 days of July, with the last eggs laid in late July. Incubation lasts for about 55 days, a responsibility shared by both parents - swapping over about every 17 days. Males do two long shifts and females one long shift and typically return close to egg hatching. Chicks are left alone in burrows by day from 1-3 days of age. The parents may travel distances of up to 600 km in order to feed their offspring. The chick will be fed by the parents for about 120 days before fledging in December or January. After breeding the adults mostly migrate across to the seas off eastern and southern Australia to carry out their annual feather moult.
Social animals are those animals that interact highly with other animals, usually of their own species (conspecifics), to the point of having a rec...