Petrels and shearwaters | Procellariidae

Pijlstormvogels | Petreles y pardelas

Medium-sized to large seabirds with a stout hooked bill and long, narrow wings held stiff and straight in the glide: they shear low over the waves and use the difference in wind speed just above the water to make headway without a wingbeat. Food is snatched from the surface or chased underwater, several species diving tens of metres with half-folded wings. The legs are set far back, so on land they shuffle and push along on the breast; nesting is in self-dug burrows or rock crevices on islands. The chick is stuffed with oil-rich food until it outweighs its parents, and is then left to itself.