Cape petrel (Daption capense)

Adult cape petrel (Daption capense) on the wing in and around the Antarctic peninsula. This petrel is sometimes also called the pintado petrel, the word pintado meaning "painted" in Spanish. Cape Petrels breed on numerous islands surrounding Antarctica. They are colonial, nesting on rocky cliffs or on level rocky ground no further than a kilometer from the sea. The nests are simple and are usually placed under an overhanging rock for protection. A single egg is laid in mid to late November and incubated for around 45 days. Both parents take shifts of several days incubating the egg, with the male shifts on average lasting a day longer. Like fulmars Cape Petrels will aggressively defend their nesting site by ejecting stomach oil at intruders; skuas in particular will prey on Cape Petrel eggs and chicks. Once hatched the chick is brooded for 10 days until it is able to thermoregulate, after which both parents hunt at sea to feed it. Cape Petrel chicks fledge after around 45 days. Cape Petrels are extremely aggressive at sea both towards their own species and others, and will even spit oil at competitors. They are also habitual ship-followers. During the summer Cape Petrels feed close to Antarctica's shelf; during the winter they range much further, reaching Angola, Australia and even the Galapagos Islands. Cape Petrels are extremely common seabirds; their population is estimated to be around 2 million birds. They are not considered threatened.

Credit to: BluePlanetArchive / Michael S. Nolan

Image dimensions: 5400x3601