petrel

pet·rel

P0223500 (pĕt′rəl)n. Any of various black, gray, or white pelagic seabirds of the order Procellariiformes, found mostly in the Southern Hemisphere.

[Perhaps alteration of earlier pitteral (perhaps influenced by Saint Peterwalking on the water, from the fact that the bird flies so close to the water as to appear to be walking on it).]

petrel

(ˈpɛtrəl) n (Animals) any oceanic bird of the order Procellariiformes, having a hooked bill and tubular nostrils: includes albatrosses, storm petrels, and shearwaters. See also storm petrel[C17: variant of earlier pitteral, associated by folk etymology with St Peter, because the bird appears to walk on water]

pet•rel

(ˈpɛ trəl)

n. any of various oceanic tube-nosed seabirds of the families Procellariidae, Hydrobatidae, and Pelecanoididae. [1670–80; earlier pitteral, of uncertain orig.]

Thesaurus

Noun

petrel - relatively small long-winged tube-nosed bird that flies far from landoceanic bird, pelagic bird - bird of the open seasfamily Procellariidae, Procellariidae - petrels; fulmars; shearwaters;Procellaria aequinoctialis, white-chinned petrel - large black petrel of southern seas having a white mark on the chingiant fulmar, giant petrel, Macronectes giganteus - large brownish petrel chiefly of Antarctic seasfulmar, fulmar petrel, Fulmarus glacialis - heavy short-tailed oceanic bird of polar regionsshearwater - long-winged oceanic bird that in flight skims close to the wavesstorm petrel - any of various small petrels having dark plumage with paler underparts

Translations

procellaria

petrel

(pĕ`trəl), common name given various oceanic birds belonging, like the albatross and the shearwater, to the order known commonly as tube-nosed swimmers. There are two families of petrels: the storm petrels (Hydrobatidae) and the diving petrels (Pelecanoididae). Many skim the waves so closely that they give the appearance of walking on the water. They are tireless fliers by day and at night rest on the water; many return to land only to breed. Two species that frequent the Atlantic coast off North America are Wilson's petrel, Oceanites oceanicus (also called Mother Carey's chicken), a surface skimmer and habitual boat follower, and Leach's petrel, Oceanodroma leucorhoa, which has a bounding, erratic flight and breeds on islands off the New England coast. The giant petrel, or giant fulmar (the size of an albatross), and the auklike diving petrel, Pelecanoides urinatrix, are both found in the Southern Hemisphere; the fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis), or fulmar petrel, inhabits the North Atlantic. The giant petrel is actually a member of the family Procellariidae (shearwatershearwater,
common name for members of the family Procellariidae, gull-like sea birds related to the petrel and the albatross and including the fulmar. Shearwaters are found on unfrozen saltwaters all over the world, with 35 species in North America.
..... Click the link for more information. family). Petrels are classified in the phylum ChordataChordata
, phylum of animals having a notochord, or dorsal stiffening rod, as the chief internal skeletal support at some stage of their development. Most chordates are vertebrates (animals with backbones), but the phylum also includes some small marine invertebrate animals.
..... Click the link for more information. , subphylum Vertebrata, class Aves, order Procellariiformes, families Hydrobatidae and Pelecanoididae.

petrel

[′pe·trəl] (vertebrate zoology) A sea bird of the families Procellariidae and Hydrobatidae, generally small to medium-sized with long wings and dark plumage with white areas near the rump.

petrel

any oceanic bird of the order Procellariiformes, having a hooked bill and tubular nostrils: includes albatrosses, storm petrels, and shearwaters

petrel

noun

Words related to petrel

noun relatively small long-winged tube-nosed bird that flies far from land

Related Words

oceanic bird
pelagic bird
family Procellariidae
Procellariidae
Procellaria aequinoctialis
white-chinned petrel
giant fulmar
giant petrel
Macronectes giganteus
fulmar
fulmar petrel
Fulmarus glacialis
shearwater
storm petrel