petrels

Stormy ocean fliers

Petrels are seabirds that spend most of their lives over open ocean, coming ashore only to breed.

The name encompasses several families of tube-nosed birds, from the massive giant petrels to the tiny storm petrels that appear to walk on water—a behavior that gave them their name, after Saint Peter.

We spotted petrels following the ship for days.

oceanic

pelagic

Of the open sea

marineRelating to the sea
offshoreAway from land
seafaringTraveling by ocean vessel

maritime · Southern Ocean · Antarctic · subantarctic · remote islands · high seas · transoceanic

seabird

fulmar

Tube-nosed seabird species

puffinStocky auk, bright beak
prionSelf-propagating rogue protein
wingspanTip-to-tip extent

plumage · feathers · beak · webbed feet · nesting · burrow · colony · rookery · endemic · ornithology

flight

glide

Move with effortless continuity

soaringRising effortlessly upward
wave-ridingStanding on moving swells
skimmingPassing lightly over

wingspan · effortless · wind-powered · thermal · hovering · pattering · walking on water

nocturnal

moonlight

Reflected solar radiance, nocturnal

darknessTotal absence of light
nightfallOnset of darkness
duskDimming after sundown

dawn · secretive · cryptic · unseen · elusive

migratory

long-distance

Across great distances

flywaysAerial migration corridors
breeding groundsSites where species reproduce
navigationDetermining position and course

seasonal · transoceanic · journey · tracking · satellite · geolocation · circumnavigation

stormy

tempest

Violent windstorm or turmoil

galeSevere sustained wind
squallBrief, violent windstorm
rough seasTurbulent ocean conditions

turbulent · harbinger · omen · superstition · St. Peter

petrels

pelagic

fulmar

glide

moonlight

long-distance

tempest

petrels

Opposites

Phrases

Categories

Family