Nombre en español: Damero del Cabo
Nombre en inglés: Cape Petrel
Nombre científico: Daption capense
Familia: Procellariidae
Categorías: Errática
Daption es un género monotípico de aves procellariiformes de la familia de los petreles o patines (Procellariidae). Comprende una sola especie y 2 subespecies de aves marinas.
Esta especie cuenta con muy pocos registros en el país, todos en la isla Gorgona. Su nombre Daption es un anagrama del término portugués pintado que fue asignado a esta ave por marineros portugueses debido a su patrón de coloración. El epíteto capense se estableció haciendo referencia al Cabo de Nueva Esperanza en Sudáfrica.
Distribución y hábitat
Durante la temporada de reproducción, los petreles dameros se alimentan alrededor de los mares antárticos y durante el invierno se desplazan hacia el norte, llegando hasta las costas de Angola y las islas Galápagos. Anidan en numerosas islas de la Antártida y las islas subantárticas, algunos inclusive alcanzando las islas Auckland, las islas Chatham, isla Campbell. Sus terrenos de reproducción se encuentran en la península Antártica, Georgia del sur, las islas Balleny, las islas Kerguelen, como también en las islas del mar de Scotia.
En Colombia ha sido registrada en la isla Gorgona.
Es un ave marina y pelágica, principalmente en invierno. En algunos lugares se encuentra en aguas frías más allá de la plataforma continental y durante el periodo reproductivo se le encuentra principalmente en aguas costeras en acantilados rocosos.
Especie
- Daption capense (Linnaeus, 1758)
Subespecies
- Daption capense australe (Mathews, 1913)
- Daption capense capense (Linnaeus, 1758)
Características de Daption capense
Con su plumaje ajedrezado, el petrel damero (Daption capense) solía ser confundido con una paloma por los marineros de los balleneros, alrededor de los cuales formaba bandadas, de ahí su nombre tradicional: paloma de El Cabo. Su vuelo consiste en rápidos batidos de alas, alternando con planeos con alas rígidas. Nada y se sumerge o bucea en busca de peces pequeños y zooplancton. Anidan en pequeños grupos o colonias en la orilla y en islas.
Tamaño y Forma
Mide de 38 a 40 cm y pesa de 340 a 380 g. Sus partes superiores presentan un patrón de coloración con cantidad variable de manchas de color blanco y negro parduzco y dos grandes manchas blancas en cada ala. Presenta cabeza negra y partes inferiores blancas con el interior del ala blanco marginado de negruzco. Su cola es corta y presenta ápice negruzco. Los jóvenes son similares a los adultos pero con las plumas negras lavadas de gris.
Especies Similares
Es una especie inconfundible gracias al patrón de coloración blanco y negro de las partes superiores.
Diferencias Regionales
Se reconocen dos subespecies: D. c. capense y D. c. australe, esta última de menor tamaño.
Alimentación
Se alimenta principalmente de peces, krill (Euphausia superba y E. crystallorophias), calamares y despojos de buques pesqueros.
Reproducción
Su periodo de reproducción inicia en el mes de noviembre. Forma grandes colonias aunque en algunos lugares puede permanecer solitaria. Anida en cavidades poco profundas en salientes rocosas, camas de grava o entre piedras. El tamaño de su postura es de 1 huevo el cual incuban de 41 a 50 días con periodos de 1 a 11 días. Las crías abandonan el nido del día 47 a 57 después de la eclosión.
Comportamiento
Esta especie se mantiene activa durante el día y la noche y al parecer se asocia con ballenas y otras aves marinas durante los periodos de alimentación. Se distribuye ampliamente por los océanos del hemisferio sur y al parecer sigue corrientes de aguas frías en zonas tropicales. Su vuelo se caracteriza por aleteos rígidos alternados con planeos cortos.
Cape petrel
The Cape petrel (Daption capense), also called the Cape pigeon, pintado petrel, or Cape fulmar, is a common seabird of the Southern Ocean from the family Procellariidae. It is the only member of the genus Daption, and is allied to the fulmarine petrels, and the giant petrels. They are extremely common seabirds with an estimated population of around 2 million.
Taxonomy and etymology
The Cape petrel is the only known member of the genus Daption and is in turn a member of the family Procellariidae and order Procellariiformes. There appears to be a subgroup within the family consisting of the giant petrels, the members of Fulmarus, the Antarctic petrel, and the snow petrel.
All Procellariiformes share certain identifying features. First, they have nasal passages that attach to the upper bill called naricorns. The bills of Procellariiformes are also unique in that they are split into between seven and nine horny plates. They produce a stomach oil made up of wax esters and triglycerides that is stored in the proventriculus. This can be sprayed out of their mouths as a defence against predators and as an energy rich food source for chicks and for the adults during their long flights. Finally, they also have a salt gland that is situated above the nasal passage and helps desalinate their bodies, due to the high amount of ocean water that they imbibe. It excretes a high saline solution from their nose.
Subspecies
The Cape petrel has two subspecies
- D. capense capense breeds on circumpolar subantarctic islands.
- D. capense australe breeds on New Zealands subantarctic islands.
Etymology
Daption is derived from Ancient Greek for «little devourer», and the Cape name is because of where the type specimen was collected. Finally, pintado is Spanish for «painted» for its plumage. One of their other names, Cape pigeon, is from their habit of pecking at the water for food. The word petrel is derived from St. Peter and the story of his walking on water. This is in reference to the petrel’s habit of appearing to run on the water to take off.
Description
The Cape petrel is a unique looking petrel. It has a black head and neck, and a white belly, breast, and its underwing is white with a black border. Its back, and upperwings are black and white speckled, as is its tail which also has a band of black. When fully grown, their wings span 86 cm (34 in) and they are 39 cm (15 in) long.
Behaviour
Diet
The Cape petrels’ diet is 80% crustaceans, as well as fish and squid. Krill is their favourite crustacean, which they obtain by surface seizing as well as diving under water and filtering them out. They are also well known for following ships and eating edible waste and carcasses thrown overboard. They are aggressive while feeding and will spit their stomach oil at competitors, even their own species.
Breeding
They are colonial birds, and nest on cliffs or level ground within a kilometre of the ocean. They tend to have smaller colonies than other petrels. Their nests are formed with pebbles and are placed under overhanging rock for protection, or in a crevice. In November they lay a single clear white egg, which is incubated for 45 days by both sexes. The egg usually measures 53 by 38 millimetres (2.1 in × 1.5 in). Like most other fulmars, they will defend their nest by spitting stomach oil. Skuas in particular will prey on Cape petrel eggs and chicks. Upon hatching, the chick is brooded for ten days until it can thermoregulate, after which both parents assist in the feeding. The chicks fledge after 45 more days, around March.
Range and habitat
During breeding season, Cape petrels feed around Antarctica’s shelf and during the winter they range further north, as far as Angola and the Galapagos Islands. They breed on many islands of Antarctica and the subantarctic islands, some going as far as the Auckland Islands, the Chatham Islands, Campbell Island. Their main breeding grounds were on the Antarctic Peninsula, South Georgia, the Balleny Islands, the Kerguelen Islands, as well as islands in the Scotia Sea.
Conservation
The Cape petrel has an occurrence range of 146,000,000 km2 (56,370,915 sq mi) and a 2009 estimate places their population of adult birds at 2 million. Consequently, the IUCN rates them as least concern.
Fuentes: Wikipedia/eBird/xeno-canto/WikiAves
