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the web of life in southern Africa

Lugensa brevirostris (Kerguelen petrel) 

Kerguelense stormvoël [Afrikaans]; Pétrel de Kerguelen [French]; Kerguelensturmvogel [German]; Painho das Kerguelen [Portuguese]

Life > Eukaryotes > Opisthokonta > Metazoa (animals) > Bilateria > Deuterostomia > Chordata > Craniata > Vertebrata (vertebrates)  > Gnathostomata (jawed vertebrates) > Teleostomi (teleost fish) > Osteichthyes (bony fish) > Class: Sarcopterygii (lobe-finned fish) > Stegocephalia (terrestrial vertebrates) > Tetrapoda (four-legged vertebrates) > Reptiliomorpha > Amniota > Reptilia (reptiles) > Romeriida > Diapsida > Archosauromorpha > Archosauria > Dinosauria (dinosaurs) > Saurischia > Theropoda (bipedal predatory dinosaurs) > Coelurosauria > Maniraptora > Aves (birds) > Order: Ciconiiformes > Family: Procellariidae

Distribution and habitat

Breeds on sub-Antarctic islands in the period from August-February, after which it disperses across the southern oceans, generally staying within 40-70° South. It is usually not present in southern Africa, with only 17 records before 1984, although between July-August 1984 at least 233 individuals occurred from the area west of the Northern Cape to coastal KwaZulu-Natal (the last record of it in southern African waters), with eruptions at the same time off South America and Australasia.

Food 

It mainly eats crustaceans and squid, supplemented with fish and offal, doing most of its foraging at night by grabbing prey from the water surface.

Threats

Not threatened, although direct exploitation and introduced predators at colony sites have negatively affected its breeding success.

References

  • Hockey PAR, Dean WRJ and Ryan PG 2005. Roberts - Birds of southern Africa, VIIth ed. The Trustees of the John Voelcker Bird Book Fund, Cape Town.