Prion (bird)

Prions
Fairy prion
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Procellariiformes
Family: Procellariidae
Tribe: Prion
Genera

Pachyptila
Halobaena

Diversity
2 genera and 7 species

The prions (/ˈpraɪɒn/) or whalebirds are small petrels in the genera Pachyptila and Halobaena. They form one of the four groups within the Procellariidae along with the gadfly petrels, shearwaters and fulmarine petrels. The name comes from the Greek priōn, meaning "saw", a reference of the serrated edges of the birds' saw-like bill.[1][2]

They are found in the Southern Ocean and breed on a number of subantarctic islands.[3] Prions grow 20 to 27 cm (7.9–10.6 in) long, and have blue-grey upper parts and white underparts. Three species of prion have flattened bills with a fringe of lamellae that act as strainers for zooplankton.[4] All prions are marine and feed on small crustacea such as copepods, ostracods, decapods, and krill, as well as some fish such as myctophids and nototheniids.

  1. ^ Gotch, A. F. (1995) [1979]. "Albatrosses, Fulmars, Shearwaters, and Petrels". Latin Names Explained A Guide to the Scientific Classifications of Reptiles, Birds & Mammals. New York, NY: Facts on File. pp. 191–192. ISBN 0-8160-3377-3.
  2. ^ "Prion". The New Oxford American Dictionary (3rd ed.). 2013.
  3. ^ Shepherd, Lara D.; Tennyson, Alan J. D.; Miskelly, Colin M. (2024-02-08). "Mitochondrial DNA structuring of Antarctic prions (Pachyptila desolata, Procellariidae)". Tuhinga. 35: 1–9. doi:10.3897/tuhinga.35.115090. ISSN 2253-5861.
  4. ^ Maynard, B. J. (2003)