Home / - Next species Volume 1 / Motley Typhoon / Pterodroma inexpectata (Forster, 1844)
| Species name: | Motley typhoon |
| Latin name: | Pterodroma inexpectata (Forster, 1844) |
| English name: | Mottled Petrel, Peals Petrel |
| Latin synonyms: | Procellaria inexpectata Forster |
| Russian synonyms: | Typhoon Saw |
| Detachment: | Tubular (Procellariiformes) |
| Family: | Petrel (Procellariidae) |
| Genus: | Typhoons (Pterodroma Bonaparte, 1856) |
| Status: | Occurs on roosts. |
Description
Coloring. There are no age, sex and seasonal differences in color. The upper body and wings are gray. Against this background, a darker stripe in the form of the letter "M" stands out clearly, which crosses the wings and back. The top of the head is dark brown. The front of the head and its sides are white with dark streaks. There is a dark spot around the eye. The chin, throat and underside of the tail are white. The chest and belly are gray with streaks. The underwings are white with gray margins and distinct black stripes that cross the wing diagonally from its curvature. The bill is black, the legs are two-colored: the flesh color turns into black on two-thirds of the distal part of the fingers and membranes.
In young birds, the edges of the feathers are white, which creates a scaly pattern in color. Downy chick is dark gray [Serventy et al., 1971].
Spread
Nesting area. The Spotted Typhoon breeds only in the New Zealand region on the islands located off the southern and eastern coasts of South Island. Breeding is also possible on the Bounty and Chatham Islands [Warham et al., 1977].
Figure 53. The area of distribution of the variegated typhoon
1 - main area of migrations in the northern hemisphere, 2 - main area of migrations in the southern hemisphere, 3 - nesting sites, 4 - direction and areas of northern migrations, 5 - directions and areas of southern migrations
Migrations
The motley typhoon makes regular seasonal flights to the North Pacific Ocean. In the southern hemisphere during the southern summer (December – March) it tends to temperate and Antarctic waters [Ozawa et al., 1968].
The flight of the variegated typhoon to the northern hemisphere occurs quickly and, apparently, in a wide front, as evidenced by its simultaneous appearance in the spring in the northwestern, northeastern parts of the ocean and near the Hawaiian Islands. The main time for northern migrations is April [King, 1967].
In the northern part of the Pacific Ocean, after crossing the tropics, it clearly gravitates towards subarctic waters [Nakamura and Tanaka, 1977]. In the first half of summer, the main concentrations of the variegated typhoon are located throughout the entire water area of the North Pacific Ocean from the northern part of the Kuril Islands and Kamchatka to British Columbia and Bay. Alaska. In the second half of summer, the variegated typhoon remains common in the northern part of the Pacific Ocean, but at the same time a significant number of its individuals penetrate into the Bering Sea, where the northern boundary of its distribution approximately coincides with the edge of shallow water. In summer, the variegated typhoon also penetrates in small numbers into the Sea of Okhotsk, where it stays only in the southern deep-water part [Shuntov, 1972].
Departure from the northern hemisphere begins, apparently, in September.The motley typhoon migrates to the south through the Hawaiian region in October, less in November and December [King, 1970].
