The species name urinatrix comes from the Latin "urinator," which means diver.
Diving petrels are strikingly similar physically and ecologically to the northern hemisphere puffins, murres, and auklets (Alcidae), especially little auks (Alle alle).
Common diving petrels are noisy birds, often calling while flying, approaching or leaving colonies, and while on the ground or on their nests. Males and females use different calls. Males sound a bit like a rising "kooo-ah," whereas females give a longer "kuaka-did-a-did" call.
Communication Channels: acoustic
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
Common diving petrels have a wide range and large population sizes, they are considered "least concern" by the IUCN. Their extended residence time on breeding colonies makes them particularly vulnerable to non-native predators, such as weasels. Populations are estimated to number 14 million birds worldwide.
US Migratory Bird Act: no special status
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
There are no adverse effects of common diving petrels on humans.
Common diving petrels are unique members of their southern ocean nearshore communities.
Common diving petrels are important predators of nearshore, deep water crustacean communities in the southern oceans. Little is known about their other ecosystem roles.
Common diving petrels use their wings to propel them underwater and catch most of their prey in underwater pursuit. They can dive to depths of 60 m. The legs are used to steer. Their diet is mainly aquatic crustaceans, mainly copepods (Copepoda), amphipods (Amphipoda, especially Hyperiella antarctica and Hyperoche medusarum), euphasiid krill (Euphausiidae, Euphasia superba), and some isopods (Isopoda). South Georgia diving petrels (Pelecanoides georgicus) seem to specialize on euphasiids in their diet, whereas common diving petrels dive deeper for prey, targeting primarily copepods and amphipods in the breeding season, although they will take more euphasiids outside of the breeding season. Common diving petrels forage mainly in the near shore areas around their breeding colonies.
Animal Foods: aquatic crustaceans
Primary Diet: carnivore (Eats non-insect arthropods)
Common diving petrels are found in the waters of the Southern Ocean between 35 and 55 degrees South, between the area of the subtropical convergence to subantarctic waters. They are found mostly around the islands they use for breeding. There are 6 recognized subspecies, each corresponding to a relatively sedentary population around a set of breeding islands. Subspecies are: 1) P. u. coppingeri on offshore islands off southern Chile, 2) P. u. berard, which breeds on the Falkland Islands, 3) P. u. dacunhae, found on the Tristan da Cunha island group and Gough Island, 4) P. u. chathamensis, found on the Solander, Stewart, Snares, and Chatham islands, 5) P. u. excsul, found in the southern Indian ocean near South Georgia, Auckland, the Antipodes, and Campbell Islands, and 6) P. u. urinatrix, on islands off the southern coast of Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand.
Biogeographic Regions: oceanic islands (Native ); indian ocean (Native ); atlantic ocean (Native ); pacific ocean (Native )
Common diving petrels are found for much of the year (10 months) on or near oceanic islands on which they breed. Islands are usually predator free, but non-native predators have been introduced in some areas. Nesting colonies are found in vegetated slopes of islands, occasionally on flat ground. Nesting burrows are generally found in soft soil, sand, or scree. They feed mainly in nearshore areas around these islands, but have also been observed in pelagic waters outside of the breeding season. Their habitat and distribution are not well known during the 2 months of the year that they are not at breeding colonies.
Habitat Regions: temperate ; polar ; saltwater or marine
Aquatic Biomes: coastal
Average annual survival of adults is estimated at 75%, leading to maximum age estimates in the wild of about 6.5 years. Young have a high survival rate to fledging, of about 87%, but post-fleding mortality can be high.
Typical lifespan
Status: wild: 6.5 (high) years.
Like other diving petrels, common diving petrels are smaller, stoutly built seabirds with robust bills, black plumage dorsally, and white plumage on the chin, breast, and belly. The scapulars have white tips, forming a faint stripe on the wing. The face and sides of the neck are more brown than black and the black plumage fades gradually to the whiter plumage of the ventral surfaces. The bill is black and the legs and feet are blue. These diving petrels are 20 to 25 cm long and from 86 to 185 g. They are indistinguishable from South Georgia diving petrels (Pelecanoides georgicus), except in the hand, where they may be distinguished by the brown inner webs of their outer primary feathers (light colored in South Georgia diving petrels). They are also distinguished by the dimensions and configuration of their bills and nostrils from other Pelecanoides species. The 6 recognized subspecies differ slightly in body measurements and bill size, but no comprehensive study has been conducted. Sexual dimorphism is not reported. Like other diving petrels, they are able to store and transport prey items in a gular pouch, formed by a distensible portion of skin in the throat. This characteristic is hinted at by their generic name Pelecanoides, referring to its similarity to the gular sac of pelicans (Pelecanidae).
Range mass: 86 to 185 g.
Range length: 20 to 25 cm.
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; homoiothermic; bilateral symmetry
Sexual Dimorphism: sexes alike
Common diving petrels are preyed on by non-native predators in their breeding colonies, such as domestic cats (Felis catus), ship rats (Rattus rattus), stoats (Mustela erminea), and least weasels (Mustela nivalis). Like other diving petrels, they seem to dive in response to threats rather than fly. They seem to escape much predation by gulls and skuas by visiting their nesting colonies mainly at night, landing briefly outside of their burrows and making a quick retreat to the safety of the burrow upon arrival. If they are forced to walk any distance on land to their burrow, there is a high probability that they will fall prey to larger birds.
Known Predators:
Anti-predator Adaptations: cryptic
Mating in diving petrels is not well-documented. Males and females begin to visit nesting colonies well before egg-laying. Individuals occupy small nesting territories and dig a burrow up to 1.5 m long in soft soil, sand, or scree, often with some vegetation or rock helping to hide the burrow entrance. Individuals call to indicate that their territory is inhabited and perhaps to advertise for a mate. Males and females help to raise their single offspring together.
Mating System: monogamous
Common diving petrels nest for much of the year in large breeding colonies. Nests are placed in burrows, rock crevices, or under the protection of thick vegetation. Burrows are dug in soft substrates, usually with vegetation or rocks obscuring the burrow entrance. Burrows are from 25 to 150 cm long. Some colonies have a density of 1 nest per square meter. These birds congregate at breeding colonies about 5 months before breeding commences. Breeding season varies latitudinally among populations. Colonies are busy with birds in the pre-laying period. Females go to sea to feed before returning to the colony to lay a single, white egg. Egg laying may occur in July in the northernmost part of their range and as late as December in the southernmost portions of their range. Egg laying can be extended, with egg laying occurring for 7 weeks in the Crozet Islands. Eggs are incubated for 53 to 55 days, the young are brooded for 10 to 15 days, and are then visited for feedings until they are about 35 days old, at 115 to 125% of adult body weights. Fledging occurs at 45 to 59 days. Young common diving petrels begin to visit breeding colonies in the year after their hatching and will reproduce for the first time in their 2nd or 3rd year.
Breeding interval: Common diving petrels breed once yearly.
Breeding season: Breeding season varies across the range of common diving petrels, from April to December, earlier in the north and later in the south.
Range eggs per season: 1 to 1.
Range time to hatching: 53 to 55 days.
Range fledging age: 45 to 59 days.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 2 to 3 years.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 2 to 3 years.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; oviparous
Common diving petrel parents both incubate, brood, and feed their young. Young hatch with a covering of gray down. After the brooding period, parents visit their young an average of 1.88 times per day to deliver regurgitated meals of around 26 g.
Parental Investment: altricial ; pre-fertilization (Provisioning, Protecting: Female); pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Male, Female); pre-weaning/fledging (Provisioning: Male, Female, Protecting: Male, Female)
The common diving petrel (Pelecanoides urinatrix), also known as the smaller diving petrel or simply the diving petrel, is a diving petrel, one of four very similar auk-like small petrels of the southern oceans. It is native to South Atlantic islands and islands of the subantarctic southern Indian Ocean, islands and islets off New Zealand and south-eastern Australian islands.
The common diving petrel was formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin. He placed it with the other petrels in the genus Procellaria and coined the binomial name Procellaria uriatrix.[2] Gmelin based his description on the "diving petrel" that had been described in 1785 by the English ornithologist John Latham in the second volume of his A General Synopsis of Birds. Latham reported that they were found in great numbers in Queen Charlotte Sound at the northern end of South Island, New Zealand.[3] The common diving petrel is now one of four petrels placed in the genus Pelecanoides that was introduced in 1799 by the French naturalist Bernard Germain de Lacépède.[4][5] The genus name, Pelecanoides, means "Pelican-resembling", which was assigned to the diving petrels on account of their expandable throat pouches that they use to carry food. Its specific name, urinatrix, is derived from the Latin term, urinator, which means "diver". Its subspecies' names include chathamensis, referring to the Chatham Islands, exsul, meaning "isolated" or "remote", dacunhae, referring to the Tristan da Cunha Islands, berard, honoring French navigator Auguste Bérard, and coppingeri, which honors Royal Navy surgeon and naturalist Richard William Coppinger.
There are six subspecies (also listed above), which vary in body measurements, particularly bill size:[6][7]
The common diving petrel is a small, plump petrel, 200 to 250 mm (7.9–9.8 in) in length and weighing around 86 to 186 g (3.0–6.6 oz). The plumage is black above and dull white below and it has a relatively short black bill.[8] The wings have thin white strips. The face and neck can be more brown than black. The legs and feet are blue with blackish-brown webbing in between the toes.[8] Unless seen very close, it is almost indistinguishable from the South Georgian diving petrel, P. georgicus. The common diving petrel has brown inner web primary feathers, whereas the South Georgia petrel has light inner web feathering. Common petrels have smaller and narrower bills than the South Georgia petrel.[7][8] Another difference is that the South Georgia diving petrel has a posterior black line down the tarsi. The common species is also slightly larger than the South Georgian species.
The common diving petrel is found between latitudes 35 and 55 degrees south, mostly around islands.[8] While the population is decreasing, it is not believed to be rapid enough to be of concern.[9] While 1.5 m (4.9 ft) burrows are usually dug in vegetated slopes, though they are occasionally built in flatland.[8]
The common diving petrel feeds on the continental shelf during the breeding season, its movements during the non-breeding season are poorly known and whether it disperses more widely is not known. Like other members of their family they catch prey by wing-propelled diving, and are capable of diving to 60 m (200 ft). The diet of this species is dominated by crustaceans.[7] They are known to forage at night on vertically migrating plankton. Feeding is mostly done in the ocean near the shore, but sometimes in the deeper pelagic zone during non-breeding season, which is only 2 months of the year.[8]
The mating habits are not well documented, although pairs form monogamous relationships. Breeding colonies are large and there is about one nest per 1 square metre (11 sq ft).[8] The nest is a burrow around 50 cm long with a chamber at the bottom which may or may not be lined with dried grass. Females lay a single white egg, which measures 38 x 29 mm,[10] and is incubated for 53–55 days. The young are brooded for 10–15 days and fledgling occurs at 45–59 days. Both parents take care of the young, which are grey-grown when hatched. The life expectancy is 6.5 years.[8]
Bird flying above the ocean
Bird resting on the ocean's surface
Pelecanoides urinatrix exul
The common diving petrel (Pelecanoides urinatrix), also known as the smaller diving petrel or simply the diving petrel, is a diving petrel, one of four very similar auk-like small petrels of the southern oceans. It is native to South Atlantic islands and islands of the subantarctic southern Indian Ocean, islands and islets off New Zealand and south-eastern Australian islands.
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