bulwers petrel

Bulwer's petrel is highly pelagic, and rarely found near land (except during the breeding season). Bulwer’s petrel is a small, sooty-brown petrel, about the size of a prion, but with quite a different shape. It has a long, tapering tail and relatively long, narrow, pointed wings held forward at the carpel joint. Lighter-brown edges to the secondary wing coverts form a pale diagonal band across the upper wing, a feature that is more apparent in good light. The tail looks pointed in normal flight, but is wedge-shaped, a feature only seen clearly when the bird banks and spreads its tail. It has a moderate-sized, smooth black bill with pronounced tubular nostrils. The legs are blackish-pink with dark webs the iris is dark brown. The flight of Bulwer’s petrel is rapid, buoyant and erratic, somewhat bat-like, with loose, wristy, wing-beats. Individuals usually fly close to the sea-surface, especially in strong winds, with short bursts of flapping, while twisting from side to side, interspersed with short, fast glides and quick changes in direction.

This species is marine and higly pelagic, usually being found far from land except during the breeding season. Its diet comprises mainly of fish and squid, with minor proportions of crustaceans and sea-striders, feeding largely at night by surface-seizing. The breeding season begins in April or May, with individuals forming colonies in a wide variety of habitats on offshore islands. Nests can be burrows, crevices, cracks or caves, under debris or vegetation cover

Its diet mainly consists of small fish (such as sardines) and squid, with some additional crustaceans (such as crabs, krill, and shrimp) and plankton.

on their breeding grounds give a deep, chuffing coq coq coq call, about 13-14 notes given in a 10-second period, mixed with occasional double coq-coq notes. They are silent at sea.

Bulwer's petrel (Bulweria bulwerii) is a small petrel in the family Procellariidae and found in the genus Bulweria (Bonaparte 1843). This bird is named after the English naturalist James Bulwer. This very long-winged petrel is 25&ndash29 cm (9.8&ndash11.4 in) in length with a 78&ndash90 cm (31&ndash35 in) wingspan. It has mainly brown plumage and a long pointed tail. It has a buoyant twisting flight as it picks planktonic food items from the ocean surface. The species has a wide distribution through tropical and subtropical regions of the Atlantic Indian and Pacific oceans it is a year-round resident in Cabo Verde China French Guiana Indonesia Japan Malaysia Mauritania Morocco Saint Helena Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Senegal and Taiwan it breeds in the Macaronesian Islands and continental Portugal in the Atlantic and from eastern China and the Bonin Islands east to the Hawaiian Islands the Marquesas Islands the United States Minor Outlying Islands and Kiribati in the Pacific. It is marine and highly pelagic usually found far from land except during the breeding season. This species has been sighted in Europe as a rare vagrant to Ireland the Netherlands France and Italy. It has also appeared as a vagrant in North America with rare sightings far off the coast of both California and North Carolinacitation needed and Australia.