White-chinned petrel  (Procellaria aequinoctialis)

This large, bulky bird spends nearly all its time at sea, and has many adaptations for this oceanic life style. Its plumage is almost entirely black, apart from the underside edge of the large wings, which are built for continuous flight over great distances, interspersing slow wingbeats with glides (2) (4). Its webbed feet are also black, whilst the bill is a pale-ivory yellow, or whiter in juveniles, with black parts. However, the bill does not have a black tip, which is a useful feature to help distinguish this bird from other black petrels. Despite its name, not all these petrels have a white chin, and even those that do, it is not very noticeable (2) (5). Its Latin name is far more suited as Procella means storm, and aequinoctialis is of the equator, and the white-chinned petrel is a bird of the equatorial storms, however, not more so than many other petrels (4). This petrel is also sometimes called ‘shoemaker', a name which arose from the noisy succession of clacks and rattles it makes when in its burrow (6). When at its breeding colony the white-chinned petrel can also be heard making staccato, wheezy, moaning calls (5). Although this species was often lumped with the spectacled petrel (Procellaria conspicillata) in the past, they are now considered two separate species (4).