Possibly
the most beautiful bird in the Antarctic, the Snow Petrel is
pure white with black underdown and conspicious black eyes.
They have a small black bill and bluish gray feet. They are
restricted almost exclusively to cold antarctic waters, preferring
pack ice, icebergs and ice floes as their main habitat. They
feed mainly by surface-dipping while on the wing.
Snow Petrels tend to fly low over
the water but very high over land to avoid predators such as
South Polar skuas.
Their flight is more fluttering than most petrels.
Unlike most of the petrel family,
Snow Petrels are nervous at the nest and will desert their eggs
if overly disturbed.
Old-time whalers used to call Giant
Petrels 'breakbones' because of their frequent blood-stained
brawls over carrion meat.
Diving petrels are small seabirds
with stubby wings that seem to whir like wind-up toys
as they buzz about the sky in perpetual motion.
Where most petrels flap and glide,
diving petrels actually 'fly' under water quite similar
to penguins.
Storm petrels are the smallest and
lightest seabirds in the world.
The Wilson's Storm-petrel skips across
the surface of the water as it feeds, stirring up small
marine organisms with its feet.
Wilson's Storm petrels feed while
on the wing, skimming and pattering with their feet
over the sea surface.
White-chinned petrels have been called
'cape hens' and also 'shoemakers,' the latter based
on their call, which resembles that of a cobbler hammering
shoes.
