Tuesday 21 May
In the News: First crane egg in the western UK in four centuries

What’s the World’s Favourite Species?
Find out here.| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Aves |
| Order | Procellariiformes |
| Family | Procellariidae |
| Genus | Daption (1) |
Although both its common name and specific name refer the Cape of Good Hope, where it was first described, the Cape Petrel is actually found throughout the southern Ocean (2) (3). With its black head and strikingly speckled black and white upperparts, the Cape petrel is a highly distinctive species (2) (3) (4). Indeed, no other seabird has a similarly chequered pattern to its upperparts (2) (5). The underparts are mostly white, except for the chin and tail tip, which are both black, as are the legs, feet and bill (2) (3) (4). There are two recognised subspecies of the Cape petrel: the considerably more abundant nominate subspecies, Daption capense capense; and the smaller, darker-patterned, and much more restricted subspecies, D. c. australe (2) (3) (5).
Over winter, the Cape Petrel moves into the more northerly parts of its range, where it generally stays far from shore in the open ocean (2) (4). It returns to the breeding colonies at the beginning of the Austral summer, from mid to late October. Breeding pairs are remarkably monogamous, with between 75 to 85 percent of adults mating with the same partner as the previous year (3). The nest comprises a shallow scrape or a small collection of stones, usually positioned under an overhanging rock for protection (3) (6). Each year, the female lays just a single egg, which is incubated in shifts by both the parent birds. Similarly, both the male and female share feeding and caring responsibilities once the chick has hatched. At the nest, the adults and the nestlings deter predators such as skuas (Catharacta spp.) by spitting stomach oil with incredible accuracy (3).
The Cape petrel is an opportunistic forager, with krill, fish, squid and carrion forming the bulk of its diet. Although it usually forages by seizing and scavenging from the surface, occasionally it will dive up to one metre below the surface in pursuit of prey (3). In addition, this petrel is known to commonly follow ships in order to pick up discarded scraps and offal (3) (5).
TopThe Cape petrel has an extensive circumpolar distribution ranging from the subtropics to the edge of the Antarctic continent (2) (4) (6). Breeding colonies of Daption capense capense are concentrated in the Scotia Sea and the sub-Antarctic, while D. c. australe is restricted to the sub-Antarctic islands south of New Zealand (3).
TopThe breeding colonies are generally found on level rocky ground or rocky cliffs within one kilometre of the sea (2).
TopClassified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List (1).
TopOwing to its widespread distribution, large global population, and remote breeding colonies, there are few major threats to the Cape petrel (3).
TopAlthough there are not known to be any significant conservations measures in place for the Cape petrel, this species is likely to benefit from conservation activities being implemented for the more threatened seabird species in the southern hemisphere (7).
TopFor further information on the conservation of petrels, visit:
For more information on this and other bird species please see:
Authenticated (23/04/10) by Mark Tasker, Head of Marine Advice, Joint Nature Conservation Committee.
http://www.jncc.gov.uk/
More »Related species
Image credit
© Mark Carwardine / StillPictures.com
Still Pictures Ltd.
1 Glen Cottages
Sandy Lane
Abbots Leigh
Bristol
BS8 3SE
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0) 1275 375 520
Fax: +44 (0) 705 061 3938
research@stillpictures.com
http://www.stillpictures.com
Link to this photo
Embed this ARKive thumbnail link by copying and pasting the code below.
Terms of Use - The displayed thumbnail may be used as a link from your website to ARKive's online content for private, scientific, conservation or educational purposes only. It may NOT be used within Apps.
Read more about
MyARKive
MyARKive offers the scrapbook feature to signed-up members, allowing you to organize your favourite ARKive images and videos and share them with friends.
Terms and Conditions of Use of Materials
Copyright in this website and materials contained on this website (Material) belongs to Wildscreen or its licensors.
Visitors to this website (End Users) are entitled to:
End Users shall not copy or otherwise extract, alter or manipulate Material other than as permitted in these Terms and Conditions of Use of Materials.
Additional use of flagged material
Green flagged material 
Certain Material on this website (Licence 4 Material) displays a green flag next to the Material and is available for not-for-profit conservation or educational use. This material may be used by End Users, who are individuals or organisations that are in our opinion not-for-profit, for their not-for-profit conservation or not-for-profit educational purposes. Low resolution, watermarked images may be copied from this website by such End Users for such purposes. If you require high resolution or non-watermarked versions of the Material, please contact Wildscreen with details of your proposed use.
Creative commons material
Certain Material on this website has been licensed to Wildscreen under a Creative Commons Licence. These images are clearly marked with the Creative Commons buttons and may be used by End Users only in the way allowed by the specific Creative Commons Licence under which they have been submitted. Please see http://creativecommons.org for details.
Any other use
Please contact the copyright owners directly (copyright and contact details are shown for each media item) to negotiate terms and conditions for any use of Material other than those expressly permitted above. Please note that many of the contributors to ARKive are commercial operators and may request a fee for such use.
Save as permitted above, no person or organisation is permitted to incorporate any copyright material from this website into any other work or publication in any format (this includes but is not limited to: websites, Apps, CDs, DVDs, intranets, extranets, signage, digital communications or on printed materials for external or other distribution). Use of the Material for promotional, administrative or for-profit purposes is not permitted.