Order Procellariiformes

Order Procellariiformes

Procellariiformes are an order of sea birds which are rarely out of the sky. Their Latin name means "birds of the hurricane". Since man first learned to sail the seas, these birds have been following ships. There is much folklore about this order of birds. There are three families of birds in this order. The members range in size from the huge Wandering Albatross with a four meter (13 foot) wingspan, to the delicate little Wilson's Petrel with a wingspan of only about 40 cm. (16"). No matter what size they are, they all have both nostrils contained in one small tube on top of their hook-tipped beak. The families occurring off the shores of North America are Diomedeidae (Albatrosses), Procellariidae (Fulmars, Shearwaters and Large Petrels) and Hydrobatidae (Storm Petrels). What Vultures are on land, these birds are at sea. Their food is dead sea creatures which float to the surface. They follow ships to get the fish guts and kitchen scraps which are thrown overboard. [LH] {BE}