Paiño pechialbo/White-faced Storm-Petrel/Pelagodroma marina

Nombre en español: Paiño pechialbo

Nombre en inglés: White-faced Storm-Petrel

Nombre científico: Pelagodroma marina

Familia: Hydrobatidae

Canto: David Boyle

El paíño pechialbo o paíño de pecho blanco (Pelagodroma marina) es una especie de ave marina, la única del género Pelagodroma. Se la menciona en el catálogo de especies amenazadas del Ministerio de Medio Ambiente español.

El paíño pechialbo habita en las regiones remotas en el Atlántico sur, como Tristán de Acuña, Australia y Nueva Zelanda.

Hay colonias en el Atlántico norte, en las islas de Cabo Verde, islas Canarias (subespecie P. m. hypoleuca (Webb, Berthelot & Moquin-Tandon), 1842) -solamente en la isla de Monte Clara, Lanzarote- e islas Salvajes. Anida en colonias cerca del mar, en grietas de las rocas, poniendo un único huevo blanco. Pasa el resto del año en el mar.

El paíño pechialbo es estrictamente nocturno en los lugares de reproducción, para evitar la depredación por gaviotas y págalos. Como la mayoría de los paíños, su capacidad de caminar se limita a un corto paseo al nido.

Subespecies

Seis son las subespecies reconocidas del paíño pechialbo:

Pelagodroma marina marina; anida en Tristán de Acuña y en la isla de Gough.
Pelagodroma marina hypoleuca; anida en la isla Savage.
Pelagodroma marina eadesi; anida en la isla de Cabo Verde e islas Canarias.
Pelagodroma marina dulciae; anida en las islas próximas al occidente y sur de Australia.
Pelagodroma marina maoriana; anida en las islas próximas a Nueva Zelanda.
Pelagodroma marina albiclunis; anida en la isla Kermadec.

White-faced storm petrel

The white-faced storm petrel (Pelagodroma marina), also known as white-faced petrel is a small seabird of the austral storm petrel family Oceanitidae. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Pelagodroma.

Description

The white-faced storm petrel is 19 to 21 centimetres (7.5 to 8.3 in) in length with a 41 to 44 centimetres (16 to 17 in) wingspan. It has a pale brown to grey back, rump and wings with black flight feathers. It is white below, unlike other north Atlantic petrels, and has a white face with a black eye mask like a phalarope. Its plumage makes it one of the easier petrels to identify at sea.

Behaviour

The white-faced storm petrel is strictly pelagic outside the breeding season, and this, together with its often-remote breeding sites, makes this petrel a difficult bird to see from land. Only in severe storms might this species be pushed into headlands. There have been a handful of western Europe records from France, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. It has a direct gliding flight and will patter on the water surface as it picks planktonic food items from the ocean surface. It is highly gregarious, but does not follow ships. Like most petrels, its walking ability is limited to a short shuffle to the burrow.

Breeding

The white-faced storm petrel breeds on remote islands in the south Atlantic, such as Tristan da Cunha and also Australia and New Zealand. There are north Atlantic colonies on the Cape Verde Islands, Canary Islands and Savage Islands. It nests in colonies close to the sea in rock crevices and lays a single white egg. It spends the rest of the year at sea. It is strictly nocturnal at the breeding sites to avoid predation by gulls and skuas, and will even avoid coming to land on clear moonlit nights.

Subspecies

Here are six recognised subspecies, breeding in island colonies through subtropical to subantarctic regions of the Atlantic, Indian and south-western Pacific Oceans:

P. m. albiclunis Murphy & Irving, 1951 – Kermadec Islands
P. m. dulciae Mathews, 1912 – islands off southern Australia
P. m. eadesi Bourne, 1953^[8] – Cape Verde Islands
P. m. hypoleuca (Webb, Berthelot & Moquin-Tandon, 1842) – Savage Islands
P. m. maoriana Mathews, 1912 – islands around New Zealand, including the Chatham and Auckland Islands
P. m. marina (Latham, 1790) – Tristan da Cunha and Gough Island (Nominate subspecies)