Shearwaters and Petrels (Family Procellaridae)
Petrels are birds of the ocean, coming ashore only to breed. They all have large tubular nostrils on the top of their bill, giving rise to the alternative name of 'tubenoses' - they have a good sense of smell, which is unusual amongst birds. Most are long-lived and they generally pair for life, nesting in large colonies. All lay a single, large, white egg, usually in a burrow (or for a few species on a cliff ledge). They are found throughout the world's oceans and their long, stiff wings are adapted to expoliting the air currents over the seas surface, with the larger species being able effortlessly glide for hours. The larger albatrosses belong to small closely related family (the Diomedeidae) as do the smaller Storm Petrels (Hydrobatidae), so-named because they shelter from storms in the lee of ships.
Probably the most well known petrel in Britian is the Fulmar a white gull-like bird, it has spread round the cliffs of Britain in the last 150 years. The Manx Shearwater and Storm Petrel are both nocturnal around land, mostly breeding on islands around the west coast of Scotland and Ireland. The others are usually seen when autumn storms bring them close to land.
Regularly Occurring Species
- Fulmar
- Cory's Shearwater
- Great Shearwater
- Sooty Shearwater
- Manx Shearwater
- Balearic Shearwater
- Storm Petrel
- Leach's Storm Petrel
- Swinhoe's Storm Petrel
Occasional Visitors
