Prion (bird)
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- For the infectious agent bearing the same name, see prion.
The
prions are small
petrels that comprise the
genus Pachyptila. With the
Blue Petrel they form one of the four groups within the
Procellariidae (also referred to as the prions), alongside the
gadfly petrels,
shearwaters and
fulmarine petrels. They are found in
Southern Ocean and breed on a number of subantartic islands. Prions grow 20-27 cm long, and have blue-grey
plumage with white underparts. Three species of prion have flattened bill with a fringe of
lamellae that act as strainers. All prions are marine and feed on small crustacea such as
copepods,
ostracods,
decapods, and
euphausiid krill, as well as some
fish such as
myctophids and
nototheniids.
References
- Cherel, Y., Bocher, P., De Broyer, C., Hobson, K.A., (2002) "Food and feeding ecology of the sympatric thin-billed Pachyptila belcheri and Antarctic P. desolata prions at Iles Kerguelen, Southern Indian Ocean" Marine Ecology Progress Series 228: 263–281 [link]
External links
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