sea apple is a common name for the colorful and somewhat round sea cucumbers of the genera paracucumaria and pseudocolochirus , found in indo-pacific waters .

sea apples are filter feeders with tentacles , ovate bodies , and tube-like feet .

they can release their internal organs or a toxin into the water when stressed .

sea apple

sea apple <EOT> kfc and apple hit by backlash from beijing’s spat with philippines over south china sea .

lots of myths in this hobby . . . sea apple toxin is not one of them .

the apple will automatically anchor at a corner with high waterflow . it is true that sometimes the apple will wander about .

your sea apple can nuke everything in your tank ( even if you have a 500 gallon tank ! ) the sea apple belongs in a smaller tank by itself ( and perhaps a few death row inmates ) .

what about the toxins that the sea apple may let out . the tenticals seem to be getting worse .

pseudocolochirus violaceus ( dendrochirotida : cucumariidae ) sea apple cucumber by lee sui kei rachel , 2016 , on taxo4254 .

smashed iphones latest in south china sea spat kfc and apple hit by backlash from beijing’s spat with philippines over south china sea . check out this story on urltoken urltoken

evisceration has apparently not been observed in the others ( which are curiously - mostly made up of deep - sea members ) . its not clear if some deep - sea sea cucumbers - such as sea pigs eviscerate or not .

sooner or later , a sea lion always pops up . this is a galápagos sea lion ( zalophus wollebaeki ) .

sam apple is the author of the memoir “american parent” and teaches journalism at the university of pennsylvania .

in this column i will discuss some of the most colourful and controversial sea cucumbers in the hobby – the sea apples .

i just want to say . my sea apple is fine in my 7 gallons since my purchase . from my observation , you can make a sea apple tank easily . the trick is you should block all the power head by using live rocks . and try to make your hob filter on either left or right hand corner .

sea cucumbers actually taste like cucumbers . and when you pickle them they taste like pickles . aren ' t sea cucumbers amazing .

recently my huge lta decided to move . he happened to move to where the sea apple sits . the tenticals of the anemone were touching the sea apple and i wasnt really sure what to do so i just let nature do as it will . maybe not a good idea ? the sea apple seemed to move but not very far and it doesnt look that great . his tenticals are out a lot as usuall but a couple of them look to be " melting " for a lack of better words . any advice

the great pearlfish , conqueror of sea cucumber bums , devourer of reproductive organs , all - around decent critter to anything but a sea cucumber .

i would avoid putting anything else in the tank since the apple death will most likely kill everything else in the tank .

there are several parasites that have snails as an intermediate host . however , apple snails are relatively resistant to many of these parasites , which are often host specific and do not regenerate in other hosts like apple snails . however , at least one parasite (

apple only tank , does sound good . . . i think a 5 gallon would do the trick . . . . .

you have teeth in your head , but some sea cucumbers have them in their bum . imagine , if you will , the life of a sea cucumber dentist .

( the edible sea cucumber which is black along the upper surface , and bright pink along the belly , also from the red sea and indo - pacific ) .

an apple snail with an egg deposition problem . the eggs collect near the shell opening qnd not on the surface ( pomacea canaliculata ) .

this sea apple ( pseudocholochirus ) has extended its tree - like feeding tentacles into the water column to capture tiny planktonic food . although these animals have a reputation for being extremely dangerous to a coral reef aquarium , they only cause problems in self - defense . a sea apple can make an attractive and interesting addition to well - designed aquarium in which the animal is protected from pump intakes and receives appropriate and sufficient food . photo by julian sprung

but i find that if you make your hob with high waterflow , it wont move easily for the apple needs current to filter its food .

a sea cucumber behavior wherein they can expel their " guts " through their body wall .

from wikipedia ! sea urchins ! who doesn ' t love em ? the spiny balls of the sea ! we eat em ! they ' re important to marine ecosystems . . .

the natural history museum in rotterdam will exhibit reconstructions of the sea monster later this year .

this sea lion came into a little cove . the trees in the background are mangroves .

galápagos green turtle ( chelonia mydas agassisi ) . galápagos green turtles are a subspecies of the pacific green sea turtle , and the only population of green sea turtles nesting in the galápagos .

here ' s another thought . . . i feel that there is a much greater chance that you bring home a fish that wipes out all the others , than bringing home an apple and it doing the same . i better stop now as my apple could be proving me wrong at the moment . . .

the letters denote the sea cucumber’s increasing level of discomfort . ( click for larger view . )

sea world ' s trevor long says dolphins " are enriched by the experience " of performing .

increasingly innovative maritime raids near the narrow bab al - mandab maritime passage , which connects the red sea with the gulf of aden and the arabian sea , add to already severe difficulties getting aid and commercial supplies to a country that imports 90 percent of its food and fuel by sea .

the sea apple should be fed liquid foods of brine shrimp , grated mussel , or other carnivorous preparations at least three times per week . if you notice an oily residue on the surface of the acclimation container , find cucumber floating on top of the water , any cloudiness in the bag , or note that the acclimation water is very discolored do not add cucumber or acclimation water to the aquarium . it is important to be cautious in caring for the sea apple as it can have adverse effects if done improperly .

the stem cells phyto - elite intensive body sea scrub comes in either green apple or citrus and it helps to refresh and smooth skin . this product helps with the anti - aging process , exfoliating and polishing the skin to leave behind an enjoyable sensory experience .

sorry i probably should have worded my comment better . . was trying to indicate that if he was not concerned about the potential danger of the sea apple . . fine - not that he did not care about the cuke . my apology if i offended .

figure 4 . 3 frost damage to an apple flower ( left ) ; and on small fruits ( right ) [ russet patches near the eyes and rings ] .

these animals may look like boring lumps . . . but sea cucumbers have all sorts of surprises .

formulated with the atoligomer , which is a high concentrate of pure microminerals drawn from the sea water , this scrub helps infuse the skin with natural minerals and strengthen and rejuvenate the epidermis . the entire sea scrub is based around the mineral - rich natural sea salt that enhances the penetration of the active ingredients .

sprung , j . 2001 . invertebrates : a quick reference guide . sea challengers , danville , ca .

echinodermata ! starfish ! sea urchins ! sea cucumbers ! stone lillies ! feather stars ! blastozoans ! sea daisies ! marine invertebrates found throughout the world ' s oceans with a rich and ancient fossil legacy . their biology and evolution includes a wide range of crazy and wonderful things . let me share those things with you !

so , here ' s the thing - sea cucumbers , like most echinoderms directly lack a way to excrete wastes . they are essentially open to seawater the way starfish , sea urchin , and other echinoderms are . .

oh . . . okay . . . that changes things a little . try just moving the sea apple and see if that ' s enough . if the aneomne isn ' t showing damage then the toxins may only be limited . still . . . keep a close eye on things .

kfc and apple “are just closely associated with the u . s . , and you are seeing people picking the closest symbol they can think of to demonstrate against , ” he said .

animal rights activist june killington visits sea world to distribute postcards that claim the park is an " aquaprison " .

interestingly , the extent to which evisceration occurs varies among different groups . here is a generalized classification for sea cucumbers taken

i know that sea apples are difficult and nasty in death which is why i want a species tank for one .

the sea apple is poisonous when stressed . the poison is powerful and can not only kill the anemone but harm the entire tank . if it dies they are known to release even more of this poison . i do not suggest you let nature take its course as this may result in tank - wide problems .

you will also want to ensure that you do not have any species of fish that are known to be predators of sea cucumbers . most trigger fish , some wrasses and butterfly fish will nip at the tube feet of sea cucumbers . although sea cucumbers are nocturnal , our rock landscaping usualy does not provide enough protection to hide in and be completely safe from predatory fish .

a poison apple tree ( manzanillo ; hippomane mancinella ) . this is the only indigenous toxic plant in the galápagos - the sap causes severe dermatitis and the fruit can be fatal to humans , though tortoises eat it .

munday p . l , van herwerden l , dudgeon c . l . evidence for sympatric speciation by host shift in the sea .

kfc is china’s biggest restaurant chain with more than 5 , 000 outlets . it is overhauling its struggling business there after a food scandal and marketing missteps . apple has faced a series of legal hurdles this year in china .

chinese nationalists have protested at kfc outlets and called for boycotts of the fast - food chain , while photos and video circulating online and on social media show people wearing scarves and banners with patriotic slogans smashing apple iphones in protest .

while the iphone x may have stolen the headlines , in fact the iphone 8 could be the sleeper hit of apple ' s new range , offering the same power as the x but with features and a design users trust .

trowbridge c . d , todd c . d . host - plant change in marine specialist herbivores : ascoglossan sea slugs on introduced macroalgae .

sea apples are going to move around till they find a spot they are comfortable with . . and there isn ' t much you can do about it . many would consider sea apples " high risk " and " expert only " - not a great choice for most tanks .

the sea cucumber , though , has a trick up its sleeve . remarkably , it can regenerate complex body parts like intestines and , yes , gonads . and it’s a damn good thing it can , because sea cucumbers defend themselves in what might be described as a fairly unorthodox manner .

apple ' s watch will free you from your phone - while making sure you don ' t suffer the fear of missing out . it ' s a huge step forward , and a compelling reason for the average user to buy a smartwatch .

this defenseless - looking sea cucumber has a secret weapon . when under threat , it expels its own guts as sticky filaments that can tangle or injure…

i recently purchased a sea apple , and wanted to find some more information about how best to care for it . a friend of mine has had his sea apple for about 4 months , and it seems to be doing well . he target feeds it by using a turkey baster to squirt enriched baby brine shrimp ( soaked in selcon for an hour or so ) a couple of times a week , and aside from that he says it catches some of the bits of adult brine that he feeds to his fish and larger corals . i know that there is a risk of them poisoning the tank if they die , but i really like the thing and really want to have one in my tank . is this crazy , or is it really as easy to keep as my friend says ? thanks ,

i have had a very nice sea apple for 4 - 5 years and he just went belly up over the last week . no poison excreted whew . i put him in a hospital tank to offer more food and care , but i still lost him . params were all near perfect and no other losses in the tank . and no other tankmates seemed to pay any attention to him day or night .

toonen , r . j . 2003 . invertebrate non - column : sea cucumbers - part ii . in advanced aquarists online magazine . january 2003 . urltoken

file photo - people walk past a ship docked at the red sea port of hodeidah , yemen february 1 , 2017 . reuters / abduljabbar zeyad / files

well , hopefully that provides you with sufficient information to make an educated decision about whether or not your aquarium is suitable for a sea apple . if you decide that you would like to add one of these beautiful and fascinating animals to your tank , i also hope that the information that i have provided here will allow you a good chance at keeping it healthy and happy for a long time in your aquarium !

lane , david j . w . and didier vandenspiegel . 2003 . a guide to sea stars and other echinoderms of singapore . singapore science centre . 187pp .

different kinds of sea cucumbers evert / expel different organs . these can also vary depending on certain times of the year ( as we ' ll see ) .

but as sea cucumbers were better studied - it turned out that these cases were not quite so clear cut ! and defense was sometimes just not an option .

images here from the encyclopedia of life this week , something about the many different kinds of asteroids ( aka sea star or starfish ! ) t . . .

sea apples are suspension feeders that need ample quantities of phytoplankton to survive . you can purchase or culture phytoplankton to feed these animals , but satisfying their demand and keeping them alive long term requires a high degree of effort and dedication . the sad fact is , most sea apples kept in aquariums gradually starve to death .

can anyone provide me a trustable source regarding this ? i would also like to know if there are any recent papers exploring why males get pregnant in sea horses .

this defenseless - looking sea cucumber has a secret weapon . when under threat , it expels its own guts as sticky filaments that can tangle or injure its aggressor .

sea cucumbers are , of course , the " worm - like " echinoderms . they usually eat fine mud or organic goo and are composed of 3 main parts !

sea world has earned a reputation for its rescue and rehabilitation work and its funding of marine research , but critics say such projects are a " fig leaf " .

: please do not purchase them . while being very colorfull and a temptation to add one to our aquariums , these animals are not suitable for keeping within our aquariums . being filter feeders and not deposit feeders as the other sea cucumbers are , they are almost guaranteed to slowly starve to death . once stressed or having died , a sea apple is one of the most toxic of their family and will kill a great many of your other aquarium pets quickly . the risk is far too great to take a chance on trying to keep an animal that is all but impossible for us to feed properly .

such pearlfishes come in a range of species , and don’t necessarily limit themselves to invading sea cucumbers . they’ll also work their way into sea stars , and are so named because they’ve been found dead inside oysters , completely coated in mother - of - pearl . beautiful , really , though i reckon the pearlfish would beg to differ .

wow - congratulations on keeping such a fragile creature for so long . i ' m not sure what their natural lifespan is , but you did great with that one ! when i saw the subject line , i was thinking - the lifespan of the other creatures in the tank will be " as short " as the sea apple - i don ' t sell sea apples but i ' ve seen the disasters that can occur when people buy them and they come into harm ' s way . . . they nuke and kill everything 4 - 5 years - my hat is off to you - well done ! jenn

shipping industry sources say shipping firms were becoming more reluctant to deliver goods to houthi - controlled hodeidah port together with the neighboring port of salif also on the rea sea .

sea apples on aquarium invertebrates by dr rob toonen on the advanced aquarist ' s online magazine : details the toxic nature and low success rate of keeping these animals in captivity .

so like a disgraced samurai disemboweling himself , the sea cucumber gifts the world with its intestines , whether the world wants them or not . interestingly , though , the pearlfish doesn’t itself seem to trigger this reaction for reasons that aren’t yet clear . and it’s important to consider that the fish in fact benefits from the evisceration , because by using the sea cucumber as a home , it necessarily adopts its host’s predators . its survival depends on the sea cucumber’s ability to defend itself , which is quite intriguing from an evolutionary perspective .

and sure enough , tests with expelled viscera and a place for the sea cucumbers to hide was effective against one of their most aggressive predators . . the sun star . .

( photo by emily miller kauai ) so , recently i ' ve gotten a bunch of questions about these peculiar sea urchins via email - and so i thou . . .

other than those few simple precautions , a sea cucumber ' s only real danger within our aquariums is from starving to death . if you notice that your sea cucumber is slowly shriking ( getting smaller ) , then it would be a good idea to try and find it another home that can provide the amount of detritus and organics it needs to thrive .

the ornately colored sea anemone ( uh - nem - uh - nee ) is named after the equally flashy terrestrial anemone flower . a close relative of coral and jellyfish , anemones are stinging polyps that spend most of their time attached to rocks on the sea bottom or on coral reefs waiting for fish to pass close enough to get ensnared in their venom - filled tentacles .

he story of modern cancer research begins , somewhat improbably , with the sea urchin . in the first decade of the 20th century , the german biologist theodor boveri discovered that if he fertilized sea - urchin eggs with two sperm rather than one , some of the cells would end up with the wrong number of chromosomes and fail to develop properly . it was the era before modern genetics , but boveri was aware that cancer cells , like the deformed sea urchin cells , had abnormal chromosomes ; whatever caused cancer , he surmised , had something to do with chromosomes .

when purchasing a cucumber , as with everything , you should research that specific species , if possible , i say if possible , because there is very little known as this group of animals is very little studied . thankfully most deposit feeding sea cucumbers that i am familiar with are very similiar and only differ in their adult size . when choosing from the few varieties of sea cucumber species normaly available to the hobby , i would first ensure that the sea cucumber will not become a very large specimen as it will most likely not find enough to eat within our aquariums .

respiratory trees are unique to sea cucumbers and are not found in any other echinoderm . all species of holothuroids must use at least one of these organs to breath . respiratory trees are often fed oxygen by the sea cucumber actually breathing through their anus . they not only excrete waste from their anus , but expand and contract their muscular body walls in a slow rhythm , which in turn draws in and expels water . this is where the respiratory trees extract the oxygen . there are a few species of sea cucumbers that also allow small fishes to enter and exit the anus .

i ' ve eaten sea cucumber on many occasions . the species i ' ve tried have a very subtle taste that tends to convey the flavor of the sauce . there is a substantive gelatinous texture to it which is what most people seem to remember most . sea cucumber harvests are becoming a conservation issue - so at this point i would enjoy with some restraint and caution . .

he similarly dismisses the idea that sea world " kidnaps " dolphins from the wild , since , apart from anything else , taking dolphins from the wild for commercial use is illegal in australia .

the book features chapters on several australian zoos and on the dolphins at sea world . " you have to get the animal ' s hunger level just right before a performance , " he says . " you see some very agitated seals and sea lions just before their performance , because they know they are going to be fed but that they have to do a performance before that happens . "

a maritime source familiar with the area said that , depending on the current , any free floating mines could be pushed into the open sea in an area close to the bab al - mandab .

but , i do know that the sea apple which i had in my tank is still back in the store where i returned it . it was in the store for about 3 - 4 months before i purchased it , so . . as for right now it ' s going on maybe 9 - 10 months of living in captivity and i have no idea how long they had it before then . the guy i purchased it from has had his in his tank at home for about 3 years if i rember right .

chinese state media called for " rational patriotism " wednesday amid anti - u . s . protests in recent days after an international tribunal ruled against beijing over its territorial claims in the south china sea .

sea world ' s gate takings are estimated at more than $ 133 million annually . of that it spends $ 1 million on rescue , research and rehabilitation , or three - quarters of 1 per cent .

a saudi frigate was attacked on jan . 30 close to the red sea port of hodeidah in which two crew members were killed and three wounded , saudi official media reported , blaming houthis for the attack .

in several posts here at saltwater smarts , i’ve mentioned that certain marine organisms routinely offered in the aquarium trade should come with a warning label—especially for novice hobbyists . in these cases , i’m usually referring to animals that are really gorgeous or exotic - looking ( hence hard to resist ) but either difficult to keep alive or dangerous to tankmates for one reason or another . in the case of the sea cucumbers known as sea apples (

pelletreau , k . n . , & g . muller - parker . 2002 . sulfuric acid in the phaeophyte alga desmarestia munda deters feeding by the sea urchin strongylocentrotus droebachiensis . marine biology 141 : 1 - 9 .

if you want a ron howard movie about a man obsessed with a creature from the deep , " in the heart of the sea , " sadly , is not the place to start . try " splash . "

while not a complicted animal to care for , there are a few concerns to take into consideration when adding a sea cucumber to your aquarium . not being the quickest or brightest of creatures , any pump inlet that is not covered or protected will pose a very real danger to your sea cucumber . keeping the inlet guards that should have come with your pump when you purchased it , in place , will prevent any such accidents from happening .

when threatened , some sea cucumbers discharge sticky threads to ensnare their enemies . others can mutilate their own bodies as a defense mechanism . they violently contract their muscles and jettison some of their internal organs out of their anus .

but the sea cucumber may not be entirely defenseless against the invasions of the pearlfish . some species have what could be functioning as a built - in gate in their anus — a handy accessory considering that in addition to the pearlfish , crabs and clams have also been known to make themselves at home inside the poor critters ( the sea cucumber , it seems , like any good host , can never really enjoy itself at its own party ) .

the day after i meet killington , i pay a visit to trevor long , sea world ' s director of marine sciences . long has worked at sea world since 1973 and was involved in the collection of many of its animals . killington had described him as some kind of monster , but he seems perfectly amiable , if a little defensive , with a snow - white beard and skin cured to a rich caramel by decades of uv exposure .

and by no means was i trying to say 3 months was a success . just that i have cared for one , and it was my first addition to a new tank ( please note : my tank was up for about 2 months before i added anything , i also did not have a protien skimmer , or a fuge at the time ) . during that time i only saw growth in the creature , and it was always feeding . which is one of the tell - tale signs of the health of a sea apple is if it ' s not feeding or taking on some water .

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ you can ' t kill a fish born to hang . . . . . 65 - gal red sea reef 12 - gal nanocube

but for the past two years she has focused on sea world , which she calls an " aquaprison " where " dolphins that have been stolen from the ocean or bred in captivity perform tricks every day for dead fish " .

landry c , geyer l . b , arakaki y , uehara t , palumbi s . r . a recent speciation event in the indo - west pacific : rapid evolution of gamete recognition and sperm morphology in cryptic species of sea urchin .

despite this , they are sceptical about the park ' s research claims . sea world ' s website lists 84 marine research projects it has funded in the past 10 years , 65 of which have been included in peer - reviewed publications .

no no its the sea apple . you know how the tenticale sticks out and they look kinda like . . . . . . a feather sorta thing ? lol well one of them seems to be " melted " . i am not sure what to do . i just did a partial water change cuz the salinaty was very very high . ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? not sure how that happened but after the water change ( straight from the tap ) the water was high range ph 8 . 2 , amonia between 0 and . 25ppm the nitrite at 0 ppm and the nitrate around 10 ppm

parks such as sea world generally don ' t keep endangered species ; they keep bottlenose dolphins , which are abundant in the wild . " so it ' s pretty transparent that it ' s not about conservation . it ' s about money . "

this behavior is the strange product of a housing crisis . you see , shelter is in short supply on many seafloors , particularly those that lack reefs . and there are few better shelters than sea cucumbers , little mobile homes that pearlfishes will enter pretty much as they please , leaving to hunt and returning for protection . if they can’t return to the same one , no worries at all . there’s plenty of decent housing squirming around the seafloor — if you’re willing to live in a sea cucumber’s bum .

i have a question about sea apple behavior . please spare me the " they ' ll nuke your tank " comments , as i fully understand the chances i have taken . ( imo i think most , only most not all , are made up or caused by powerheads ) anyways , i have had my apple for about two weeks now . it made its way to one of the sides and has been hanging out there for the majority of the time . this morning i woke up to find it almost to the top of the tank , about six inches away from my korolia . so i turned it off to avoid any hazard should he decided to make a left ! is this normal behavoir ? or is he stressed ? water is completely stable and nothing in my tank is showing signs of stress , quite the opposite actually . also , his feeders only come out about half way , and only a few times a day . is this normal ? ? ? ? ? ? ? i may swallow the 60 bucks and get rid of him . . . . . let me know .

hamel , j . f . , & a . mercier . 1998 . diet and feeding behaviour of the sea cucumber cucumaria frondosa in the st lawrence estuary , eastern canada . canadian journal of zoology - revue canadienne de zoologie 76 : 1194 - 1198 .

one tropical family of sea cucumbers , have special structures called cuverian tubules which are adhesive and used specifically for defense . i ' ll be blogging about those - hopefully next week . . so i will hold off on saying much about those for now .

next time , i’ll continue on with the remainder of the issues you raise in this question and try to give you an actual answer to what conditions you require to have a reasonable chance of keeping a sea cucumber healthy in your aquarium . . . .

with a little knowledge and care taken , a sea cucumber can and will be very helpfull in keeping your sandbed looking clean and fresh . most everyone has heard of the horror storys of a cucumber " nuking " their tanks , i have never had this happen and know of no one that has . now sea apples are a different story , i would never have one in my tank since they are the most likely to nuke a tank and when they do , its right up there with small nuclear devices .

file photo - a houthi militia media officer checks a camera next to giant cranes , damaged by saudi - led air strikes , at a container terminal at the red sea port of hodeidah , yemen november 16 , 2016 . reuters / khaled abdullah / file photo

infertile eggs just like chickens , apple snails do lay eggs even when they are not fertilized . this should be kept in mind of you have a single snails or several snails without a single male . if the eggs never hatch , even not when you are sure that the snails have mated , one should also think of bad conditions for the eggs ( dry air , to humid air with condensing water , low temperatures etc . ) .

with countries phasing out the captivity of " man ' s best friend in the ocean " , the gold coast ' s sea world dolphinarium looks like an endangered species . or is it ? tim elliott meets those working on both sides of a highly emotional divide .

hamel , j . f . , p . k . l . ng , & a . mercier . 1999 . life cycle of the pea crab pinnotheres halingi sp nov . , an obligate symbiont of the sea cucumber holothuria scabra jaeger . ophelia 50 : 149 - 175 .

how can they turn into liquid ? anyway i am about to make a thesis . . . i want to try what you said here if a sea cucumber really can regenerate when cut into two . . . i really am amazed . . . anyway thanks for the info

there are more than 1 , 000 sea anemone species found throughout the world’s oceans at various depths , although the largest and most varied occur in coastal tropical waters . they run the full spectrum of colors and can be as small as half an inch or as large as 6 feet across .

depending on what species it is , the pearlfish initiates one of two relationships once inside : a commensal one , in which it simply takes up space without either helping or adversely affecting the sea cucumber , or a rather more parasitic one , in which it chows down on its host’s gonads .

last week’s ruling by the united nations tribunal in the hague , netherlands , found there was no legal basis for beijing’s claim to most of the south china sea . despite overlapping claims , beijing has been undertaking vast infrastructure projects in the area to secure natural resources and control strategic shipping lanes .

there are about 95 species in 11 genera and four families . tentacles are simple . respiratory trees are present . the calcareous ring is without posterior projections . the body wall is generally soft and pliant . most forms live in shallow water , though one family is restricted to the deep sea .

great performances , fantastic experience , it makes you feel like you ' re there at sea . the whale scenes are intense and tge drama is heartbreaking seeing what these men went through . i liked the man vs nature and man vs man aspects . could have been better with character development though

urbina bay is perhaps best known as the site of an uplift event which raised 385 acres of the sea bed by up to 13 feet in 1954 . the uplift was so rapid that turtles , fish , lobsters , and other marine life was stranded . chunks of coral are still visible .

arnold is similarly worried by sea world ' s involvement in establishing marine parks in asia . in 2012 , sea world ' s owner , village roadshow , struck a deal with a chinese company to develop ocean paradise , a marine theme park in hainan which is to be stocked with dolphins and beluga whales . long is to head up village roadshow ' s involvement in the project . " the culture in asia is not exactly animal - friendly , " arnold says . " if it takes off in asia , aquariums will explode and the abuse and the potential for abuse will explode . "

the various attachment ligament / tissues which connect and anchor all of the various internal organs to the body wall all begin to rapidly soften . sea cucumbers , like all echinoderms have a unique kind of connective tissue which permits them to toughen or soften their body texture at the animal ' s whim .

there are about 340 species in 35 genera and three families . tentacles are shield - shaped . respiratory trees are present . the calcareous ring is without posterior projections . the body wall is generally soft and pliant . most forms live in shallow water , though one family is restricted to the deep sea .

i suspect this is one of those threads where if you don ' t have any concern about the critter - fine . but having owned alot of cukes including apples i would not be as confident as you . i have had a number of " turd " cukes puke their intestines on me over the yrs . . . just std tank maintenance where you don ' t see the buggers and they get frightened . . . same kind of defense response from an apple may have adverse impact on entire tank .

rabindra , s . , b . a . macdonald , p . lawton , & m . l . h . thomas . 1998 . feeding response of the dendrochirote sea cucumber cucumaria frondosa ( echinodermata : holothuroidea ) to changing food concentrations in the laboratory . canadian journal of zoology 76 : 1842 - 1849 .

regeneration time in sea cucumbers apparently varies on which organs were lost and in what species . . regrowth time varied from 7 to 145 days ! ! yes , that means that at the shorter end of the range , there were some species for which regeneration of an organ could take as little as a week !

in any case , you should also tell your friend that unless they begin to add phytoplankton to their tank on a regular basis , there is a good chance that their sea apple will slowly starve to death over the period of a year or so ( as i explained last time ) . as for the amount and frequency of feeding , it is harder to say . the specifics depend on your aquarium , the number and type of suspension feeders and such , but following the instructions on the phytoplankton products ought to suffice . a good rule of thumb is that if you cannot see the animal poop , it is not getting enough food . the obvious gauge is that if the animal grows it is being fed enough - - if it shrinks , it is starving , and you need to increase the feeding frequency and / or amount .

sea world certainly has its supporters . " it is absolutely the lesser evil , " says sue arnold , from australians for animals . " i have been to the most appalling aquaria in mexico , canada and europe . there are a hell of a lot of places i ' d be shutting down before sea world . " arnold says she " doesn ' t know of any dolphinaria that has their standard " , and that she " would always work with trevor [ long ] " . yet she remains conflicted . " given the amount of animals he rescues , it ' s an incredible contradiction for him to be involved in the captive industry . "

such projects are a " fig leaf " , according to sarah lucas , from australia for dolphins , a melbourne - based group with more than 120 , 000 supporters . " dolphinaria like sea world claim they are helping conservation through research , " she says , " when really they are businesses making money through commercial dolphin shows . "

ok . . . the apple will move around the tank to find a place with good flow where it can filter feed . i had a beautiful purple one that lasted for years but in the end there was not enough dissolved food in the water and it slowly wasted away . . . and yes you are right , it died in the tank and nothing else died from toxins . toxins are mostly for self defense , but you never know how these animals work so be carefull either way . you will need to feed that guy or he will die .

if buddhists are right about that whole reincarnation thing , it’d be hard to imagine what you’d have to do wrong to die and come back as a sea cucumber . one minute you’re human and the next you’re crawling around the seafloor as what is essentially a mobile intestine , hoovering up food at one end and expelling it through the other .

the most important feature distinguishing the sea cucumbers is a calcareous ring that encircles the pharynx or throat . this ring serves as an attachment point for muscles operating the oral tentacles and for the anterior ends of other muscles that contract the body longitudinally . sea cucumbers are also distinct as echinoderms in having a circlet of oral tentacles . these may be simple , digitate ( with finger - like projections ) , pinnate ( feather - like ) , or peltate ( flattened and shield - like ) . a third key feature , found in 90 % of living species , is the reduction of the skeleton to microscopic ossicles . in some species , the ossicles may be enlarged and plate - like .

sea world gets 1 . 5 million visitors a year . " most of these people come from general suburbia , " says long . " they are not watching david attenborough , they are playing xbox . if they come here and develop an empathy and appreciation for the animals , they ' ll be more likely to take action to protect them . "

i was with jenn , i was going to start spewing the normal feeding problems and stuff of sea apples , but if you were able to keep on for 4 - 5 years you fully understood he feeding requirements of them . did it maintain its size all the way to the end ? have you changed anything in the tank ? substrates / feeding ? g ~

“the part that hasn’t really been substantiated is the fact that you have some sea cucumbers that have these kind of spines around the anus called anal teeth , ” said mah . “and it isn’t clear if these anal teeth really are active defensive mechanisms that keep things like fish and crabs out , or if they’re just there and we assume they’re defensive in some way . ”

it ' s late afternoon when we turn up to sea world , driving into the car park in killington ' s hatchback , which is plastered with " i ' m against dolphin captivity " and " sea world sucks " stickers . killington is dressed in black , with a chunky gold necklace and hair the colour of ribena . in the klieg - light glare of surfers paradise , she sticks out like a goth at a beach party . she is also the most profane woman i have ever met , spraying around expletives like blasts from an uzi . " look at this f . . . ing place , would you , " she mutters , gazing with undiluted scorn at the theme park ' s gates . " what a f . . . ing disgrace . "

the sea fennel ( crithmum maritimum l . ) is a wild plant from the same family of the parsley and celery , that is used as a fresh ingredient for many food preparations . in this work , some alternative culinary uses for this aromatic plant as a dried ingredient have been proposed . therefore , two drying technologies were applied with the aim to obtain a new spice - colorant without chemical synthesis . the results are discussed in terms of visual quality , odor and taste of the dehydrated products . moreover , the effects on the overall sensory properties of some dishes prepared using the two different types of this new spice are reported . the introduction of the dried sea fennel in gastronomy could increase the sensory appeal of some traditional dishes and support the creation of many new recipes .

“two strategies are observed for entering , ” parmentier said . “one , head first by propelling itself with violent strokes of the tail ; two , tail first by placing the head at the cloaca of the sea cucumber and moving the thin tail forward alongside its own body at the level of the lateral line , ” then slowing backing into the host , though not yet all the way .

" they hate us , these dolphins , " she says . " if they could talk , they would say , ' you motherf . . . ers . ' " she has brought with her a stack of glossy postcards . the postcards look legitimate , with the sea world logo beneath a picture of a cheery - looking dolphin . flip it over , however , and it reads : " don ' t buy a ticket to animal cruelty . open your mind and your heart and know that cetaceans are not here to amuse and entertain us . go to sea world shut down on facebook for more information . " as we walk around , killington hands these cards to everyone she meets , including staff , even popping into the toilets to leave stacks of them beside handbasins .

since the most common cause for the demise of a sea cucumber within our aquariums is from starvation , i would not get more than one at first and give it a few months to determine if the single sea cucumber is able to fully process the surface layer of your sandbed . again , i would not purchase a large species as not only will they most likely slowly starve to death , but due to their size , they very frequently only extend half of their length out of the rock work onto the sandbed , which over due time , means that as they gather sand grains , it all gets expelled back behind your landscape causing those areas to eventualy get a very deep sandbed while the depth of your sandbed at the front of your tank gets shallower by the day .

in the meantime , the shifting of expectations will be left to people such as june killington . at sea world , i watch as she engages a middle - aged woman and her two children . " what do you think of the dolphins being locked up ? " killington asks her . the woman shrugs . " nothing really . look at them . they ' re not being badly treated . "

magnificent apex predators that spend most of their lives roaming the sea ice of the arctic , where they hunt for seals . everything about them evolved to suit living in one of the harshest environments on earth . all of which makes it more than a little sad to see them in a zoo , where they too often live in small enclosures , swim in lukewarm pools , and dine on anything but blubber .

in the winter of 1820 , the new england whaling ship essex was assaulted by something no one could believe : a whale of mammoth size and will , and an almost human sense of vengeance . the real - life maritime disaster would inspire herman melville ' s moby - dick . but that told only half the story . " in the heart of the sea " reveals the encounter ' s harrowing aftermath , as the ship ' s surviving crew is pushed to their limits and forced to do the unthinkable to stay alive . braving storms , starvation , panic and despair , the men will call into question their deepest beliefs , from the value of their lives to the morality of their trade , as their captain searches for direction on the open sea and his first mate still seeks to bring the great whale down .

the committee subsequently recommended that no more dolphinariums be set up , and that those in existence be phased out , which is what subsequently happened to the facilities in south australia , western australia and victoria . only two dolphinariums now remain in australia : sea world and dolphin marine magic , a smaller operation in coffs harbour , on the nsw north coast , that has also attracted controversy over the treatment of its animals .

today boveri is celebrated for discovering the origins of cancer , but another german scientist , otto warburg , was studying sea - urchin eggs around the same time as boveri . his research , too , was hailed as a major breakthrough in our understanding of cancer . but in the following decades , warburg’s discovery would largely disappear from the cancer narrative , his contributions considered so negligible that they were left out of textbooks altogether .

“probably the best thing that sea cucumbers are known for is evisceration , ” said marine biologist christopher mah , “which is tossing their guts out at predators when they are harassed by them . so you have a crab or a fish or something and what they’ll do is literally eviscerate , just take a good chunk of their intestine that will spool out of their body and get shot out at the predator or whatever as a distraction . ”


hahncappsia neomarculenta is a moth in the crambidae family .

it was described by capps in 1967 .

it is found in north america , where it has been recorded from maryland , indiana , west virginia , north carolina , ohio and tennessee .

the wingspan is 22-24 mm for males and 22-23 mm for females .

adults have been recorded on wing from may to july .

hahncappsia neomarculenta

hahncappsia neomarculenta <EOT> photographs are the copyrighted property of each photographer listed . contact individual photographers for permission to use for any purpose .

munroe , e . , 1976 . moths of america north of mexico , fascicle 13 . 2a , p . 42 ; pl . 3 . 71 . order

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wilson 's storm petrel ( oceanites oceanicus ) , also known as wilson 's petrel , is a small seabird of the austral storm petrel family oceanitidae .

it is one of the most abundant bird species in the world and has a circumpolar distribution mainly in the seas of the southern hemisphere but extending northwards during the summer of the northern hemisphere .

the world population has been estimated to be more than 50 million pairs .

the name commemorates the scottish-american ornithologist alexander wilson .

the genus name oceanites refers to the mythical oceanids , the three thousand daughters of tethys .

the species name is from latin oceanus , " ocean " .

wilson ' s storm petrel

wilson ' s storm petrel <EOT> flat - clawed storm petrel , wilson’s petrel , wilson’s storm petrel , yellow - webbed storm - petrel .

the one record of the wilson’s storm - petrel was from the middle shelf .

no specific conservation measures are currently in place for wilson’s storm - petrel ( 2 ) .

wilson ' s storm petrel is one of the most abundant bird species in the world .

> calls of wilson & apos ; s storm petrel : functions , i . . .

wilson’s storm - petrel is extremely wide ranging , visiting all major oceans except the arctic ( 3 ) .

wilson ' s storm - petrel spends much of its life at sea ( marchant & higgins 1990 ) .

this map shows the geographic location of 1 wilson’s storm - petrel sightings ( blue star ) on petra’s fishing trip from port o’connor .

) . olfactory guidance of leach ' s storm petrel to the breeding island .

gębczyński ak ( 1995 ) is there a hypothermia in wilson’s storm petrel chicks ? . polish polar res 16 : 175–184

1 . wilson’s storm petrels are one of the most numerous birds in the world .

figure 1 . distribution of the leach ' s storm - petrel in north america .

wilson ' s storm - petrel is classified as least concern ( lc ) on the iucn red list ( 1 ) .

see howell ( 2012 ) for a detailed account of the distribution of wilson ' s storm - petrel in north america .

obst bs , nagy ka ( 1993 ) stomach oil and energy budgets of wilson’s storm petrel nestlings . condor 95 : 792–805

two subspecies of wilson’s storm - petrel are recognised : oceanites oceanicus exasperatus and the slightly smaller oceanites oceanicus oceanicus ( 3 ) .

pearman , m . 2000 . first records of elliot´s storm petrel oceanites gracilipes in argentina .

we had left the expected range of many humboldt current species including elliot’s storm - petrel .

4 . wilson’s storm petrels are the smallest warm - blooded animal to breed in the antarctic .

wilson’s storm petrels are gregarious at sea with flocks reaching several thousands at staging points during migration .

the latest sighting details and map for wilson ' s storm petrel are only available to our birdguides ultimate or our birdguides pro subscribers .

the life expectancy of a wilson ' s storm - petrel is approximately 10 years and four months ( quillfeldt & möstl 2003 ) .

in australian territories , the dark morph of the white - bellied storm - petrel ( fregetta grallaria ) may be confused with the wilson ' s storm - petrel . furthermore , the species is also superficially similar to leach ' s storm - petrel ( oceanodroma leucorhoa ) ( marchant & higgins 1990 ) .

wilson ' s storm - petrel ( oceanites oceanicus ) doing the ' water walking ' thing . image by patrick coin , from wikipedia .

birdlife international . 2013 . species factsheet : wilson ' s storm - petrel oceanites oceanicus . downloaded from birdlife international on 5 march 2013 .

due to its fragility on land , wilson’s storm - petrel only comes to shore at night , to avoid predators such as gulls and eagles . when threatened , wilson’s storm - petrel may squeak and eject an oily liquid from the stomach in defence ( 2 ) ( 6 ) .

the breeding season for the wilson ' s storm - petrel is from november to december and march to may ( marchant & higgins 1990 ) .

the graph below shows the number and date of all wilson’s storm - petrel sightings offshore texas . not seen yet on a texas pelagic trip .

wilson ' s storm - petrel patters on the ocean surface with wings almost horizontal . photographed by leonard medlock on the august 08 bbc extreme pelagic

other names : flat - clawed or yellow - webbed storm - petrel , mother carey ' s chicken .

olivier f ( 2003 ) detailed information on 196 grid sites used for snow petrel and wilson’s storm petrel surveys in the windmill islands during the 2002 / 2003 season . australian antarctic data centre–snowhite metadata .

the wings of wilson’s storm - petrel are distinctively short and rounded , and its feet can be seen protruding slightly past its square tail when in flight . when gliding close to the water’s surface , wilson’s storm - petrel appears to ‘jump’ as it repeatedly dips its long legs in the water . this species has a distinctive bright yellow membrane between its black toes , which is thought to attract prey ( 2 ) . as in other storm - petrels , the female wilson’s storm - petrel is larger than the male ( 4 ) .

embed this arkive thumbnail link ( " portlet " ) by copying and pasting the code below . < a href = " urltoken " title = " arkive species - wilson’s storm - petrel ( oceanites oceanicus ) " > < img src = " urltoken " alt = " arkive species - wilson’s storm - petrel ( oceanites oceanicus ) " title = " arkive species - wilson’s storm - petrel ( oceanites oceanicus ) " border = " 0 " / > < / a >

bretagnolle , v . 1989 . calls of wilson ' s storm petrel : functions , individual and sexual recognitions , and geographic variation . behaviour 111 : 98–112 .

oceanites oceanicus ( wilson ' s storm - petrel ) : species management profile for tasmania ' s threatened species link ( threatened species section ( tss ) , 2014xt ) [ state action plan ] .

at nesting sites wilson’s storm petrel are killed by skuas and starvation , due to the blocking of the burrow by hard snow , is a cause of chick mortality .

the global population of the wilson ' s storm - petrel is estimated to be in the order of 12 000 000–30 000 000 birds ( birdlife international 2010b ) .

australian antarctic division ( aad ) ( 2010 ) . wilson ' s storm petrel factsheet . available from : urltoken . [ accessed : 02 - nov - 2010 ] .

moore , c . c . 1992 . wilson ' s petrel with legs ensnared in fishing mesh . british birds 85 : 556 .

quillfeldt p ( 2001 ) variation of breeding success in wilson’s storm petrels : influence of environmental factors . antarct sci 13 : 400–409

wilson’s storm petrel are numerous and wide ranging . they migrate from their antarctic breeding grounds to north of the equator in the atlantic , indian and pacific oceans , with few birds migrating north into the eastern pacific ocean . their range overlaps with many other storm petrel species .

olivier f ( 2005 ) detailed information on the location and characteristics of wilson’s storm petrel nests found during systematic surveys in the mawson and casey regions . australian antarctic data centre–snowhite metadata .

5 . during storms at sea wilson’s storm petrels will fly in the troughs of waves in order to take some sort of cover .

dive ? does wilson ' s storm - petrel dive ? i have seen thousands of wilsons and never saw a single bird dive under the water . parmelee ( 1993 ) descrbes an incident of wilson ' s storm - petrel " submerging to grasp rising oil droplets before the droplets could float to the surface and burst . " i don ' t really consider that diving .

protection / threats / status : in spite of predation on the breeding grounds , the wilson’s storm - petrel is one of the most abundant of all seabirds . the population was estimated at 12 , 000 , 000 / 30 , 000 , 000 individuals in 2004 , and it is still suspected to be stable . the wilson’s storm - petrel is currently evaluated as least concern .

moore , c . c . ( 1992 ) . wilson ' s petrel with legs ensnared in fishing mesh . british birds . 85 : 556 .

this analysis of the flight behaviour of wilson ' s storm petrel indicates that its ‘hovering’ is an energetically inexpensive foraging stragegy which is probably available only to small , surface - feeding birds with low wingloading .

) . much work remains to determine the nonbreeding distributions of these populations . the smaller , dark - rumped swinhoe ' s storm - petrel (

wilson ' s storm - petrel is one of the world ' s most abundant seabirds and the smallest endotherm ( generating its own heat for warmth ) that breeds in antarctic waters ( büßer et al . 2004 ; quillfeldt & möstl 2003 ) .

3 . the “storm” in the bird’s name refers to the idea that the appearance of flocks of the bird foretold of a coming storm .

’s storm - petrels and both a typical and an atypical , well - marked example of elliot’s storm - petrel . the puerto montt birds show less white on the belly and more white on the vent than typical elliot’s storm - petrels . elliot’s also shows a clear divide between belly and rump , along the femoral tract , although this may sometimes be faint or hidden .

off western australia and the northern territory , wilson ' s storm - petrels are mainly observed along the coast during migration ( marchant & higgins 1990 ) .

wilson ' s storm - petrels are diurnal feeders , consuming mainly pelagic ( marine ) crustaceans and fish with some cephalopods , polychaetes , gastropods and carrion .

interestingly in relation to wilson’s storm - petrel , harrison notes “cape horn birds may have pale vents ( naveen , pers . comm . ) . ” it would appear ron naveen was most likely referring here once again to

the breeding range of wilson ' s storm - petrel includes subantarctic islands from cape horn , chile , east to the kerguelen islands , the french southern territories and also includes coastal antarctica ( marchant & higgins 1990 ) .

wilson ' s storm - petrel breeds colonially in holes and crevices in cliffs , rocky slopes and screes on islands in the fuegian region of chile and the subantarctic , the antarctic mainland , and possibly in the andes .

james pc ( 1983 ) storm petrel tape lures : which sex is attracted ? ring migr 4 : 249–253 .

quillfeldt . p . 2001 . variation in breeding success of wilson ' s storm petrels : influence of environmental factors . antarctic science 13 : 400 - 409 .

wilson’s storm - petrel uses a wide range of vocal signals to communicate . it is a strong flier and an excellent swimmer , but cannot sustain itself for more than a few steps when walking on land ( 2 ) .

copestake , pg & croxall , jp ( 1985 ) . aspects of the breeding biology of wilson ' s storm petrel oceanites oceanicus at bird island , south georgia . british antarctica survey bulletin . 66 : 7 - 17 .

by w . b . alexander in “birds of the ocean” ( 1928 ) . the taxon was later described in detail by murphy ( 1936 ) and referred to as “fuegian petrel” , a new subspecies of wilsons storm - petrel . subsequent to that , for reasons we have yet to establish , the taxon was “dropped” as a race of wilson’s . until very recently only two races of wilsons storm - petrel

adults are taken mostly by great skuas ( c . skua ) which take wilson ' s storm - petrels from the ground and in flight . remains of wilson ' s storm - petrels are frequent in skuas ' middens ( ground burrow used for food ) at many sites . at south georgia , some birds may be taken by southern giant - petrels ( macronectes giganteus ) and northern giant - petrels ( m . halli ) . there is one record of predation of a wilson ' s storm - petrel by a shark ( marchant & higgins 1990 ) .

department of sustainability , environment , water , population and communities . 2013 . oceanites oceanicus - wilson ' s storm - petrel in species profile and threats database , department of sustainability , environment , water , population and communities , canberra .

wilson’s storm petrels young and eggs are preyed upon by skuas , gulls , owls , and falcons . because of their small size adults may also be taken by falcons .

copestake , p . g . and croxall , j . p . ( 1985 ) aspects of the breeding biology of wilson’s storm petrel oceanites oceanicus at bird island , south georgia . british antarctic survey bulletin , 66 : 7 - 17 .

behaviors the most obvious storm - petrel behavior is pattering their feet along the surface of the water when feeding . this is best observed on a calm ocean . observe the angle of the wings when pattering . wilson ' s storm - petrel holds its wing in a horizontal to a shallow v shape as seen in chris ciccone ' s photograph . usually found in groups either resting on the ocean or feeding .

saville , s . , stevenson , b . , & southley , i . 2003 . a possible sighting of an ‘extinct’ bird – the new zealand storm - petrel .

lockley , r . m . 1983 . flight of the storm petrel . david & charles , newton abbott & london .

copestake , p . g . , and j . p . croxall . 1985 . aspects of the breeding biology of wilson ' s storm - petrel oceanites oceanicus at bird island , south georgia . british antarctic survey bulletin 66 : 7 - 17 .

introduction : the wilson’s storm - petrel is included in the southern subfamily oceanitinae , but it is a transequatorial migrant that winters in the northern hemisphere . this species has wide range and large populations . however , the main threats are first the ingestion of plastic , and then , the fishing nets where birds can be entangled at sea . it also has some natural avian predators on the breeding islands . the wilson’s storm - petrel spends most of the year at sea and comes on land only for breeding .

in australia , most reports of the wilson ' s storm - petrel are from the edge of the continental shelf and during autumn . the species is known to breed on heard island , where it is described as abundant ( woehler & johnstone 1991 ) .

within the antarctic area , certain sites have been designated specially protected areas ( aspa ) ( ats 2008 ) to preserve historical , scientific and environmental values . some of these include sites of breeding importance to the wilson ' s storm - petrel , namely :

wilson’s storm petrel is a small storm petrel with short , rounded wings and long legs projecting beyond the tail in flight . it is about 18 cm in length with a wing span of approximately 40 cm . their upperparts are mostly sooty - brown except for a conspicuous white rump and a pale brown band showing across the greater wing - coverts . their underside is mainly sooty - brown .

velez , l . g . ( 1995 ) . wilson ' s storm petrels oceanites oceanicus breeding at the bertrab nunatak , filchner iceshelf , antarctica . marine ornithology . 23 : 67 .

the wilson ' s storm - petrel is a pelagic ( marine ) species distributed throughout most of the world ' s oceans . its distribution stretches north through the mid - latitudes of the northern hemisphere and south through the oceans surrounding australia and the australian antarctic territory ( aat ) ( marchant & higgins 1990 ) .

wilson’s storm - petrel is among the most numerous of all birds . no global threat to this species is known , but it does face competition from commercial fishing , as well as the problem of pesticide and heavy metal contamination of its food sources ( 2 ) .

wilson’s storm - petrel makes nests in burrows or rock crevices , and tends to breed together in loose colonies . the breeding season is around november to december . each pair lays a single egg , which hatches after an incubation period of around 43 days ( 2 ) .

wilson’s storm - petrel breeds around the cold waters of antarctica , on rocky islets , cliffs and amongst boulder scree . during the southern winter it heads north , and may be seen around small rocky islands in the atlantic and indian oceans ( 2 ) ( 5 ) .

davis p ( 1957 ) the breeding of the storm petrel . british birds 50 : 85–384 , 85 - 101 , 371 - 384 .

many also displayed a lightly mottled vent / lower belly suggestive of elliot’s . we considered elliot’s a remote possibility off

the diet of wilson’s storm - petrel is mostly based on planktonic crustaceans , especially krill , but may also include fish , squid and other molluscs . this species can detect prey by smell , and is known to search out and follow fishing trawlers ( 2 ) ( 6 ) .

beck , j . r . , and d . w . brown . 1972 . the breeding biology of wilson ' s storm petrel , oceanites oceanicus ( kuhl ) , at signy island , south orkney islands . british antarctic survey sci . rep . 69 : 1 - 54 .

in summer , wilson ' s storm - petrels move in a circumpolar oceanic range , mostly restricted to the southern ocean ( south of 50° s to 40° s in the south - west region of the range ) . in the atlantic and south - west indian oceans , the species is found to approximately 30° s off western south america ( marchant & higgins 1990 ) .

) , nesting off japan , korea , china , and russia , is so similar it has been considered a race of leach ' s storm - petrel ; the two are appropriately considered a superspecies .

ingestion of plastics is a primary threat to wilson ' s storm - petrels , with a high proportion of adults and pre - fledged chicks reported to have plastic in stomachs ( moser & lee 1992 ) .

since unplugged birds recovered their olfactory capabilities during the experiment , we pooled them with the control birds in global homing success analysis . a g - test ( one - tailed ) indicated a lower global homing success of plugged birds with respect to pooled control and unplugged birds in common diving petrel ( p < 0 . 05 ) , madeiran storm petrel ( p < 0 . 05 ) , wilson ' s storm petrel ( p < 0 . 01 ) and thin - billed prions ( p < 0 . 001 ) .

wilson’s storm petrel breed on the antarctic continent , south georgia , kerguelen , falklands , tierra del fuego islands off cape horn , and possibly also at peter , bouvet , heard , the balleny islands and islands off graham land . non - breeders may remain in the north throughout the year .

the wilson’s storm - petrel is a transequatorial migrant . it migrates from the breeding grounds in antarctic to n of the equator in atlantic , indian and pacific oceans . a few birds migrate n into e pacific ocean . the non - breeding birds may remain in the north throughout the year .

the right storm - petrel to watch wilson ' s is the storm - petrel to watch as it readily approaches boats and can often be observed within 3 feet of the boat . harrison says it follows ships and attends trawlers . ( harrison 1983 ) . follows ships means it will follow the wake of a boat that is steaming along without dispersing fish waste or chum . attends trawlers refers to gathering behind a fishing vessel discarding fish parts .

wilson ' s storm petrel was included as a new zealand bird species without locality in buller ' s birds of new zealand , 1888 . there are two subspecies : oceanicus whuich breeds on subantarctic islands in the south atlantic and south indian ocean , and exasperatus which breeds on coasts and islands of antarctica and is an uncommon passage migrant through new zealand waters .

power , d . m . and d . g . ainley . 1986 . seabird geographic variability : similarity among populations of leach ' s storm - petrel . auk no . 103 : 575 - 585 . close

hedd p , montevecchi wa ( 2006 ) diet and trophic position of leach ' s storm - petrel during breeding and moult , inferred from stable isotope analysis of feathers . mar ecol prog ser 322 : 291–301 .

on my first pelagic trip to monterey bay in california , i was looking forward to identifying several new storm - petrels . the first flock spotted was far from the boat almost to the horizon . i decided to wait for a closer flock . but the next flock was also far away as was the following flock and they didn ' t seem to respond to the boat ' s chumming . i realized that other storm - petrels are not boat followers and i had to work at identifying distant storm - petrels . that ' s when i came to appreciate our wonderful little bird watcher friendly wilson ' s storm - petrel .

the white band across the rump and the yellow webbing is diagnostic but the wilson ' s storm - petrel is hard to identify , especially in flight . the square tail , brownish wingbar ( usually best seen on worn plumage ) and feet slightly extending beyond tail are useful identifiers ( lindsay 1986 ) .

the wilson ' s storm - petrel has been identified as a conservation value in the temperate east ( dsewpac 2012aa ) marine region . see schedule 2 of the temperate east marine bioregional plan ( dsewpac 2012aa ) for regional advice . maps of biologically important areas have been developed for wilson ' s storm - petrel in the temperate east ( dsewpac 2012aa ) marine region and may provide additional relevant information . go to the conservation values atlas to view the locations of these biologically important areas . the " species group report card - seabirds " for the temperate east ( dsewpac 2012aa ) marine region provides additional information .

maguire ej , zonfrillo b , clark h , wilkins m ( 1980 ) status of storm petrel in clyde and forth . scottish birds 11 : 51–53 .

the wilson ' s storm petrel migrates from its antarctic breeding grounds to north of the equator in the atlantic , indian and pacific oceans . the ross sea birds and birds south of australia , migrate to the indian ocean . they are gregarious at sea with flocks reaching several thousands at staging points during migration .

behaviour in the wild : the wilson’s storm - petrel feeds mainly on crustaceans , especially krill of genus euphausia , small fish ( 2 - 8 cm long ) , squid and carrion . it also follows ships and trawlers for offal , and often feeds around large cetaceans that lead the preys to the surface .

quillfeldt , p . & e . möstl ( 2003 ) . resource allocation in wilson ' s storm - petrels oceanites oceanicus determined by measurement of glucocorticoid excretion . acta ethologica . 5 ( 2 ) : 115 - 122 .

one of the most numerous of all sea birds ( 3 ) , wilson’s storm - petrel ( oceanites oceanicus ) is predominantly sooty - black with a white , u - shaped rump . there is a pale bar on the upperwing , and the dark underwing has a paler patch on the underwing - coverts ( 3 ) .

breeding sites of wilson ' s storm - petrel outside the americas include south shetland , bouvetøy , crozet , kerguelen , heard , macquarie , balleny , scott , and peter islands , and many other small islands and archipelagos in the southern ocean , as well as antarctica ( murphy 1936 , onley and scofield 2007 , brooke 2004 ) .

underside scott surner captured this view of wilson ' s storm - petrel which shows the underside as it banks toward the boat . notice that the wings are dark underneath and that the white rump wraps on either side of the tail down to the legs . the bird ' s left leg clearly extends beyond tail . look closely at the right foot and you can see a hint of the yellow web between the toes . the close approach of this storm - petrel and the thousands that swarm in our waters makes photographs like this possible . great picture scott . thanks for sharing .

the average size of individuals is 15–19 cm in length , with a wingspan of 38–42 cm . each wing is 14–15 cm long , and the tail is 5 . 7–6 . 2 cm long . the average weight of a wilson ' s storm - petrel is approximately 34–50 grams ( lindsay 1986 ; marchant & higgins 1990 ) . wilson ' s storm - petrels are gregarious ; congregating when feeding and migrating and breeding colonially . at sea they are found singularly or in small flocks . historically , groups of hundreds to thousands were recorded at whaling stations ( marchant & higgins 1990 ) .

howell , s . n . g . 2012 . petrels , albatrosses and storm - petrels of north america . princeton university press , new jersey .

- once again we found ourselves puzzled by storm - petrels in chilean waters .

quillfeldt , p . , and h . - u . peter . 2000 . provisioning and growth in chicks of wilson ' s storm - petrels ( oceanites oceanicus ) on king george island , south shetland islands . polar biology 23 : 817 - 824 .

wilson ' s storm petrel feeds over the continental shelf . they feed , typically of storm petrels , by running along the surface of the water with wings outstretched and bill , or their entire head , submerged in the water to scoop in their food , taking minutiae from the surface . they feed on crustacea , cephalopods , fish , and offal . they readily follow ships and attend trawlers , attracted by the left overs , and whales and dolphins .

montage showing representatives of the five main petrel clades . top left : great shearwater ( puffinus gravis ) . top right : black - capped petrel ( petrodoma hasitata ) , both images by patrick coin . below , top to bottom : southern giant petrel ( macronectes giganteus ) by brocken inaglory ; broad - billed prion ( pachyptila vittata ) , by rosemary tully ; westland petrel ( procellaria westlandica ) , by mark jobling .

15–20 cm ; 28–50 g ; wingspan 34–42 cm . small blackish storm - petrel with long legs , square - ended tail and white horseshoe on uppertail - coverts . head and . . .

in the non - breeding season , the birds are mainly seen in tropical and subtropical waters ( marchant & higgins 1990 ) . in pack - ice , the species rests on ice - floes and flies in the shelter of floes during gales . outside of the breeding season , the wilson ' s storm - petrel roosts on the sea surface ( marchant & higgins 1990 ) .

in the breeding season , the species is seen foraging near to breeding sites . their range extends a few degrees into the subtropical zone where breeding is on islands is close to the subtropical convergence . in the ross sea in summer , most birds are within 500 km of nesting grounds , and individuals are mainly found in open water north of pack ice . within pack - ice , the wilson ' s storm - petrel frequents light pack . however , the species is more often seen over wide leads and pools rather than near ice - floes or brash - ice . concentrations of the wilson ' s storm - petrel have been observed at the edge of pack ice . on the antarctic continent , birds are occasionally seen well inland ( marchant & higgins 1990 ) .

büßer , c . , a . kahles & p . quillfeldt ( 2004 ) . breeding success and chick provisioning in wilson ' s storm - petrels oceanites oceanicus over seven years : frequent failures due to food shortage and entombment . polar biology . 27 : 613 - 622 .

gladbach , a . , c . braun , a . nordt , h . u . peter & p . quillfeldt ( 2009 ) . chick provisioning and nest attendance of male and female wilson ' s storm petrels oceanites oceanicus . polar biology . 32 : 1315 - 1321 .

scott spangenber donated this great photo of wilson’s storm - petrel from the july 19 , 2008 bbc pelagic to the continental shelf edge , the bird on the left has its feet closed as usual , but the bird on the right is caught with both feet open giving us a clear look at the yellow web . nice photo scott . yellow webs are not a field mark for the ordinary observer , but with a good photograph they are pretty definitive . the only other storm - petrel in our area to display yellow web is the white - faced storm - petrel which is otherwise very distinctive . notice also how clearly the white rump wraps around the underside of the bird to the left and the light band on the upper wing clearly stops short of the leading edge of the left wing .

wilson’s storm petrel return to their colonies in november / december and eggs are laid in mid - december ( approximately one month later at heard island and iles kerguelen ) . both parents share the 39–48 day incubation period , taking alternative shifts of about 48 hours . once the chicks hatch they are fed irregulary by both parents for up to 52 days . fledging and dispersion begins in april / may .

despite its small size and seemingly weak flight , this bird is at home on the roughest of seas , flying in the troughs of the waves during gales . it also travels huge distances - - from the antarctic to the edge of the arctic . although it nests only in far southern oceans , wilson ' s storm - petrel is often the most common seabird off the atlantic coast of the united states .

calls and songs : sounds by xeno - canto the wilson’s storm - petrel’s main call is a loud , nasal , grating « aark aark » given from the ground at colonies . the male utters a monotonous chatter to attract females “aark - uh - ah - ah - uh - uh” . this species is usually silent at sea , but some quiet , low squeaks can be heard within the feeding flocks . the birds may call during aerial pursuits or while flying above the nesting hole at night .

’s position near the southern edge of the expected range for many humboldt current seabirds .

( ed . a . s . king and j . mclelland ) , pp .

seabird season is in full swing , as this week ' s terrific winner demonstrates .

around antarctica , 72 . 9 % of observations of the feeding systems of wilson ' s storm - petrel were of pattering with 27 . 1 % of observations being of dipping ( n = 284 ) ( harper 1987 ) . comparatively , in the ross sea , 74 % of observations were of pattering , 23 % were of dipping and 3 % were of surface - seizing ( n = 35 ) ( harper 1987 ) .

reproduction of this species : the breeding season occurs between november / december and late january / late march throughout the range . the wilson’s storm - petrel breeds in loose colonies established on rocky islands , on cliffs or among boulder scree . it nests in cavities , rock crevices or burrows ( 20 - 50 cm long ) . the nest can be unlined , but sometimes , the nest - chamber is lined with feathers and moss .

wilson’s storm petrels have the ability to hover just above the water’s surface in order to pluck at plankton just underneath . their feet will dip in at a spot in the water ( perhaps to attract prey ) , the bird will nab the food , and then it will flutter to a new spot a little ways away . they will also sometimes make rare dives in order to nab small fish .

matsudaira’s storm - petrel , at sea off denis island , seychelles , november 2014 . this sequence of one individual illustrates the long wings and relatively long , deeply forked tail of this large , dark - rumped oceanodroma . note how the apparent shape , size and contrast of the white patch at the primary bases and of the pale upperwing bar appear to change with angle and light . tubenoses project & extreme gadfly petrel expeditions © hadoram shirihai

identification - dark with white rump the first storm - petrel you are likely to see in new england waters is the wilson ' s storm - petrel or wsp . the first characteristic you will notice is that it is a dark bird with a prominent white rump . your identification problem will be to separate it from the three other dark with white rump storm - petrels possible in our waters . separating new england storm - petrels . in this awesome photograph taken by scott spangenberg you can see the primary field marks of the wsp . the most prominent feature is the complete , white band on the rump . when flying the long legs trail behind the tail . ( 1 ) . there are white bands on both upper wings that do not reach the leading edge of the wing . ( 2 ) notice the straight trailing edge of the wings in calm winds . ( 3 )

wilson’s storm petrels feed by running along the surface of the water with wings outstretched and the bill ( or their entire head ) submerged in the water to scoop in their food , taking minutiae from the surface . they feed on crustacea ( amphipods and euphausia ) , cephalopods ( squid ) , fish , offal , etc .

wilson ' s storm - petrel breeds on rocky islets , on cliffs and amongst boulder scree . it prefers to feed mainly in cold waters over continental shelves or inshore , with a diet of comprised mainly of planktonic crustaceans ( especially krill ) and fish ( del hoyo et al . 1992 ) . its diet shifts from mainly crustaceans during egg formation to an increased proportion of fish during chick - rearing and moulting ( quillfeldt et al . 2005 ) .

2 . the bird is named after alexander wilson , a scottish - american naturalist who is called the “father of american ornithology . ”

wilson ' s storm petrel ( oceanites oceanicus ) characteristically feeds by ‘hovering’ over the water surface , but its technique for this is unlike that of other flying vertebrates . the kinematics and aerodynamics of this ‘hovering’ flight were investigated to determine the possible sources of lift ; various nonaerodynamic sources of lift were discounted . it is suggested that the storm petrel soars into an ambient , horizontal wind , and thus is not hovering in the usual sense . such soaring into a horizontal wind is only possible if some thrust component counteracts the bird ' s aerodynamic drag , and it is shown that the hydrodynamic drag of the feet through the water is adequate to balance aerodynamic drag . the bird is thus analagous to a kite , where the tension in the string counterbalances the aerodynamic drag of the kite .

the movements of the storm petrel ' s wings during ‘hovering’ suggest that the bird may use the wing - flip mechanism for generation of high lift coefficients ( weis - fogh , 1973 , 1976 ) . such high lift coefficients are required for the bird to ‘hover’ under calm conditions , when ambient wind velocity is less than 5 m s −1 . use of the wing - flip mechanism would enable the bird to ‘hover’ at lower ambient wind velocities . ground effect also contributes to the bird ' s ability to ‘hover’ .

such was the interest sparked by these birds that we began to closely inspect all storm - petrels thereafter .

sex differences in biometrics of european storm petrels ( hydrobates pelagicus ) attracted to playback calls in southern europe .

the diet of the wilson ' s storm - petrel shifts from mainly crustaceans during egg formation to an increased proportion of fish during chick - rearing and moulting ( quillfeldt et al . 2005 ) . fish prey includes antarctic silverside ( pleuragramma antarcticum ) , lanternfish ( protomyctophum bolini ) and norman ' s lanternfish ( p . normani ) . squid are usually taken in higher proportions outside the breeding season . species consumed include the glacial squid ( psychroteuthis glacialis ) and orchomene sp . other items eaten include cirriped larvae , gastropods and nereid worms ( marchant & higgins 1990 ) .

harrison , p . , m . sallaberry , c . p . gaskin , k . a . baird , a . jaramillo , s . m . metz , m . pearman , m . o ' keeffe , j . dowdall , s . enright , k . fahy , j . gilligan , and g . lillie . 2013 . a nwq species of storm - petrel from chile . auk 130 : 180 - 191 .

carboneras , c . , jutglar , f . & kirwan , g . m . ( 2018 ) . wilson ' s storm - petrel ( oceanites oceanicus ) . in : del hoyo , j . , elliott , a . , sargatal , j . , christie , d . a . & de juana , e . ( eds . ) . handbook of the birds of the world alive . lynx edicions , barcelona . ( retrieved from urltoken on 9 july 2018 ) .

the vocalizations of the wilson & apos ; s storm petrel ( class aves ) are described briefly . the functions of these calls was determined by experimental playback . the grating call was highly stereotyped individually , and was used in sexual contexts ( short version ) or agonistic situations ( long version ) . in contrast , the chattering call , displayed only by males , was used for self - advertisement and species recognition . the geographic variation of calls exhibited between two different populations is discussed .

wilson ' s storm - petrels return to breeding sites in late october to early december . during summer , some immatures remain in tropic areas but adults may be distributed within 750 km of breeding sites . the maximum foraging range of breeding birds at south georgia is estimated at 189–250 km and at the antarctic peninsula , 744 km ( marchant & higgins 1990 ) .

benvenuti , s . , ioalè , p . , gagliardo , a . and bonadonna , f .

naveen , r . ( 1981 ) storm petrels of the world . an introductory guide to their identification . in :

the wilson’s storm - petrel feeds by “running” over the surface . it flies low over the water with dangling legs and outstretched wings . the bill ( or the entire head ) is submerged in the water to seize the food . the birds patter on the water surface with their feet , displaying conspicuously the yellow webs , in order to disturb the preys and to attract them to the surface . dipping , pattering , skimming and shallow - plunging are the usual techniques . they are very gregarious and forage in flocks .

habitat : the wilson’s storm - petrel is strictly marine . during the breeding season , it frequents the cold waters inshore or over the continental shelf . outside this period , it is mainly over pelagic waters . the breeding colonies are established on remote , rocky islands , usually on cliffs or among boulder scree . although it avoids snow and ice , there are some records of birds nesting up to 120 kilometres inland in e antarctica , at 600 metres of elevation . it nests in rock crevices and self - excavated burrows under boulders .

tell congress and the department of the interior to uphold the country ' s most important bird protection law .

the views expressed are those of the author ( s ) and are not necessarily those of scientific american .

perneger tv ( 1998 ) what ' s wrong with bonferroni adjustments . brit med j 316 : 1236–1238 .

subspecies and range : the wilson’s storm - petrel has three recognized subspecies . o . o . chilensis breeds in tierra del fuego . outside this period , it can be found at least as far as peru . o . o . oceanicus is present in all major oceans . it breeds on subantarctic islands from cape horn e to kerguelen and heard islands . o . o . exasperatus is also present in all major oceans . it breeds on south sandwich islands , the islands of scotia sea and coastal antarctica . this one is the largest race .

7 . the name “petrel” refers to saint peter and was given to the species because the birds’ hovering makes them look like they are walking on water .

chicks can reach 145 % of adult body weight by fledging , and adult wilson ' s storm - petrels may also increase their body weight during chick raising . this is due to the provisioning of krill in february to march when it is at its peak density in waters surrounding breeding sites ( copestake & croxall 1985 ) . this ability to gain sufficient weight will impact the success of the individual .

the wilson’s storm - petrel returns to the colonies in november / december . they are monogamous , usually with long - term pair - bonds retained from year to year . the nuptial displays include aerial pursuits at night . two or several birds fly fast in circles above the nesting site while calling loudly . it is suggested that the conspicuous white rump is helpful in these displays performed in almost total darkness . the female performs a pre - laying exodus during 10 - 11 days prior to the egg - laying . they are loosely colonial and may share the site with other seabird species .

present address : department of zoology , duke university , durham , north carolina 27706 , u . s . a .

leach ' s storm - petrel , also known as leach ' s petrel and mother cary ' s chicken , is the most widespread procellariiform breeding in the northern hemisphere . more than eight million pairs nest in burrows or crevices on atlantic islands from norway to massachusetts and on pacific islands from baja california to hokkaido , japan . outside the long nesting season , these seabirds disperse widely in the atlantic and pacific oceans , well away from land and mainly in the tropics . millions more nonbreeders , mostly immatures , remain at sea year - round , although many of them visit colonies during the nesting season . small and dark and not usually gregarious or attracted to ships , this species is inconspicuous at sea . even at nesting islands , individuals fly to and from their subterranean nests only at night . many aspects of their lives remain mysteries .

and shows some plumage features suggestive of elliot’s including pale mottling on the belly and a paler underwing panel . some indeed suspect

cramp s , simmons kel ( 1977 ) the birds of the western palearctic , vol . 1 . oxford university press .

on migration in the indian and pacific oceans , the species remains far out to sea ; although first - year birds may follow the coasts of southern continents . birds often congregate and feed at ocean fronts , and are occasionally sighted inshore ( marchant & higgins 1990 ) . in south - east australia , wilson ' s storm - petrels are found over waters of surface temperatures between 9 . 4–22 . 0 °c ( reid et al . 2002 ) .

in the south - west pacific ocean , wilson ' s storm - petrels are observed on passage off new caledonia in march to june ; off vanuatu in october ; the solomon islands in april ; and papua new guinea ( png ) in may and september to november . winter records from southern png , solomon island and the coral sea suggest a possible extension of wintering areas off northern australia to the northern coral sea ( marchant & higgins 1990 ) .

in the waters off of chile , " fuegian storm - petrel " is very common , usually found within 509 km of the coast between 3 . 10°s and 53 . 63°s ( spear and ainley 2007 ) . similarly , beck ( in murphy 1936 ) recorded this taxa within 250 km of shore . in austral spring , the nonbreeding season , densities of this taxon are greatest off of southern chile , though other concentrations occur extend to northern chile . in austral autumn , the breeding season , concentrations were bifurcated , with the largest numbers off central and southern chile .

flood . r . l . and thomas b . 2007 . identification of ‘black - and - white’ storm - petrels of the north atlantic .

molecular evidence revealed that traditional grouping of all storm - petrels in a single family was paraphyletic # r # r ; precise relationships at higher levels within this order are still disputed , but storm - petrels now generally split into two families , comprising “southern” oceanitidae and “northern” hydrobatidae # r .

this species account is dedicated in honor of bill ellison , a member of the cornell lab of ornithology ' s administrative board .

palma , r . l . , a . j . d . tennyson , c . p . gaskin , and a . jaramillo . 2012 . the scientific name , author , and date for the " fuegian storm - petrel " , a subspecies of oceanites oceanicus from southern south america . notornis 59 : 74 - 78 .

in the caribbean region , wilson ' s storm - petrels occur off guadeloupe mid - february to early august , with a peak in april , and seasonally fairly common around the bahamas from late april to mid - june , but for the most part uncommon in the caribbean . rare to locally fairly common from april to september , but mainly late may to august in the gulf of mexico , with the largest concentrations around the mouth of the mississippi river ( howell 2012 ) .

olivier f , wotherspoon sj ( 2006 ) modeling habitat selection using presence - only data : case study of a colonial hollow nesting bird , the snow petrel . ecol model ( in press )

wilson’s storm - petrel ( oceanites oceanicus ) is known to breed in antarctic and subantarctic latitudes . nests are usually on rocky islets but also occur up to 120 km inland and almost 600 m asl in eastern antarctica . the subspecies chilensis breeds in tierra del fuego but there is increasing evidence that it may also nest in the chilean andes . the chilean ornithologist rafael barros v . found several apparently lost individuals , most of them juveniles still with some downy plumage , in an area of the andes where he lived between 1917 and 1928 . subsequently , in 1936 , robert c . murphy indicated that many birds captured in november–december off valparaíso showed enlarged gonads , implying a possible breeding area nearby .

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wilson ' s storm - petrels lay single egg clutches . both parents incubate the chick , rotating approximately every two days , and attend to the provisioning of chicks . hatching mainly takes place in the first half of february and chicks stay in the nest burrows for about 60 days . during the day , the chick is left unattended and is fed by adults on nocturnal visits until fledging . fledging starts in the second half of march ( gladbach et al . 2009 ; marchant & higgins 1990 ) .

in the antarctic peninsula nests in cavities in glacial rubble , scree , and also in tunnels excavated by the birds under boulders . usually enters and leaves the nest site at night . one egg per nest . both parents incubate the egg and feed the chick . adults , eggs and chicks preyed upon by skuas . ( harrison 1983 ) . an even bigger danger is that the adult , egg , or chick become trapped in the burrow by a heavy snow storm . researchers in antarctica found mummified remains in burrows . when to see look for wilson ' s storm - petrel from june to october on stellwagen bank and even in the harbor in summer . the highest numbers are seen in july and early august . the bird is best observed on very calm seas when you can see it pattering on the water picking up bits of food on the wing .

fowler ja , hulbert me , smith g ( 1986 ) sex ratio in a sample of storm petrels tape - lured in shetland . seabird 9 : 15–19 .

robbins , c . s . ( 1983 ) . golden field guide to birds of north america . golden press . 360p . [ details ]

west coast pelagic trips have started using beef suet as chum and are having more success at getting the storm - petrels closer to the boat . on a socal over night trip a large flock of black storm - petrels and fork - tailed storm - petrels responded to suet that had been put through a hamburger meat grinder . a large flock of least storm - petrels ignored the commotion . on the atlantic side , band - rumped storm - petrels that usually make a single pass by the boat and are gone also responded to suet that had been put through a meat grinder . the birds made pass after pass over the suet . it is hard to get the butcher to grind suet for you , but you need very small piece of suet for the birds to pick up quickly as they fly over the water .

habitat : widespread in the world’s oceans . some authorities consider it the world’s most abundant seabird . certainly , it is the most abundant pelagic bird in the north atlantic for much of the warmer months ( apr into oct ) , even though it nests at islands in the far southern oceans .

i should note that ‘petrel’ is supposed to be pronounced in similar fashion to the name peter , since it apparently originated as a diminutive form of that name ( and hence started out as ‘peter - el’ ) . the books say that petrels are named after st . peter since he “walked ( somewhat fearfully ) on the stormy sea of galilee at christ’s invitation” ( lockley 1983 , p . 8 ) . the irony here is that the ‘water walking’ behaviour referred to here is practised by storm - petrels , not by petrels proper ( storm - petrels don’t really walk on the water ; rather , they patter across the surface with their large webbed feet while flying ) [ adjacent image , showing this behaviour , by patrick coin ] . so , petrels – most of which are speedy soarers – are named after the idiosyncratic behaviour practised by storm - petrels .

olivier f , wotherspoon sj ( 2005 ) gis based applications of resource selection functions to the prediction of snow petrel distribution and abundance in east antarctica : comparing models at multiple scales . ecol model 189 : 105–129

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intriguing are inland reports of wilson ' s storm - petrels from the andes that suggest the possibility of an inland component to the species ' range ( marin 2002 , alvaro jaramillo , personal communications ) . several reports from as far as 110 km inland and 1400 m in elevation of adults and juveniles mostly april and may ( though there are several from late january through march ) , and even small flocks encountered in las cuevas , mendoza , argentina in january , 1940 ( zotta 1944 ) . though these sightings may be attributed to vagrancy , the number of storm - petrel records from the andes and evidence such as a bird found with an egg in its oviduct underneath the eyrie of a peregrine falcon ( falco peregrinus ) ( alvaro jaramillo , personal communication ) point to nesting somewhere inland , likely the andes . in the northern hemisphere , oceanites rarely occur as vagrants after storms so the same is assumed in the southern hemisphere .

at sea , " fuegian storm - petrel ( o . o . chilensis ) is found in the highest density over the continental slope within the humboldt current . densities of this taxon decrease with sea surface temperature and wind speed , and increase with sea surface salinity ( spear and ainley 2007 ) . the subspecies oceanicus and exasperatus are found in the deep waters of the south equatorial current .

when it blows a hard gale of wind the stormy petrel makes its appearance . while the sea runs mountains high , and every wave threatens destruction to the labouring vessel , this little harbinger of storms is seen enjoying itself , on rapid pinion , up and down the roaring billows . when the storm is over it appears no more . it must have been hatched in æolus ' s cave , amongst a clutch of squalls and tempests ; for whenever they get out upon the ocean it always contrives to be of the party . — charles waterton