Tristram's Storm-petrel
Encyclopedia
The Tristram's Storm Petrel (Oceanodroma tristrami) is a species of seabird
in the storm-petrel
family
Hydrobatidae. The species' common and scientific name is derived from the English clergyman Henry Baker Tristram
, although the species is also known as the Sooty Storm-petrel. The Tristram's Storm Petrel has a distribution across the north Pacific Ocean
, predominately in tropical seas.
The Tristram's Storm Petrel has long angular wings and is 24 cm long. The plumage
is all over dark with a slightly pale rump and a pale grey bar on the upperwing. The species is colonial, nesting in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands, and in several small islands south of Japan
, including the Bonin Islands and Izu
. Colonies are attended nocturnally, and the species breeds during the winter. At sea the species is pelagic, feeding on squid
and fish
.
The Tristram's Storm Petrel is considered near-threatened. All of its breeding colonies in Hawaii
are protected areas, but the species has undergone declines in the past due to introduced
rats on Torishima Island
.
Seabird
Seabirds are birds that have adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same environmental problems and feeding niches have resulted in similar adaptations...
in the storm-petrel
Storm-petrel
Storm petrels are seabirds in the family Hydrobatidae, part of the order Procellariiformes. These smallest of seabirds feed on planktonic crustaceans and small fish picked from the surface, typically while hovering. The flight is fluttering and sometimes bat-like.Storm petrels have a cosmopolitan...
family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Hydrobatidae. The species' common and scientific name is derived from the English clergyman Henry Baker Tristram
Henry Baker Tristram
The Reverend Henry Baker Tristram FRS was an English clergyman, Biblical scholar, traveller and ornithologist.Tristram was born at Eglingham vicarage, near Alnwick, Northumberland, and studied at Durham School and Lincoln College, Oxford. In 1846 he was ordained a priest, but he suffered from...
, although the species is also known as the Sooty Storm-petrel. The Tristram's Storm Petrel has a distribution across the north Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
, predominately in tropical seas.
The Tristram's Storm Petrel has long angular wings and is 24 cm long. The plumage
Plumage
Plumage refers both to the layer of feathers that cover a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage vary between species and subspecies and can also vary between different age classes, sexes, and season. Within species there can also be a...
is all over dark with a slightly pale rump and a pale grey bar on the upperwing. The species is colonial, nesting in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands, and in several small islands south of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, including the Bonin Islands and Izu
Izu
Izu may refer to:*Izu Province, a part of modern-day Shizuoka prefecture in Japan**Izu, a city in Shizuoka prefecture**The Izu Peninsula, near Tokyo***The Izu Islands, located off the Izu Peninsula...
. Colonies are attended nocturnally, and the species breeds during the winter. At sea the species is pelagic, feeding on squid
Squid
Squid are cephalopods of the order Teuthida, which comprises around 300 species. Like all other cephalopods, squid have a distinct head, bilateral symmetry, a mantle, and arms. Squid, like cuttlefish, have eight arms arranged in pairs and two, usually longer, tentacles...
and fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
.
The Tristram's Storm Petrel is considered near-threatened. All of its breeding colonies in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
are protected areas, but the species has undergone declines in the past due to introduced
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
rats on Torishima Island
Torishima (Izu Islands)
, literally meaning "Bird Island", is an uninhabited volcanic island at the south end of the Izu Islands in the Pacific Ocean, administered by Japan.-Geography:...
.
Source
- BirdLife International 2004. Oceanodroma tristrami. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 24 July 2007.
- Brooke, M. (2004). Albatrosses And Petrels Across The World Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK ISBN 0-19-850125-0