White belly storm petrel (Fregata grallaria) is found almost worldwide south of the Equator in warm and temperate seas. In the Pacific this is found from Australia east to the continent of South America. In the Atlantic Ocean this is found from Brazil and Argentina to the southern half of Africa. The range continues from South Africa east in the southern Indian Ocean, but probably not as far east as western Australia. This is known to breed with various subspecies near New Zealand, Tristan da Cunha, and Chile.

The body is about 8 inches, and the wings can be up to about 18 inches. In flight the underside shows a dark brown throat, face, and neck band. The upper breast and lower breast is white. The wide tail is dark brown. The wing is white, except for a leading brown edge. However, the underside of the wing feathers are brown. Dorsally, the back and wings are mottled brown with some white, but the wing feathers are dark brown. The lower back shows a white area near the brown tail.

Frigatebird genus (Fregata) contains 5 species of large oceanic birds. These birds are large with long bills. The necks are short and the wings are long and pointed. The long tails are forked. These birds obtain much of their food by chasing other seabirds.

Although many large seabirds fly with bent wings, the frigate birds seem to have very sharp bends in the middle of their wings when in flgiht.

These birds are usually found near land, as they return to land to spend the night. When at sea they can fly at great heights.

Storm Petrels (Family Hydrobatidae) contains 22 different species of small birds that frequent the open oceans of the world.

The Cahow (Pterodroma cahow) is a member of the storm petrel family. This species was considered extinct for over three centuries until an example was discovered near Bermuda in l951. By l961, 18 breeding pairs had been discovered on remote islands near Bermuda. Because they breed in crevices and burrows and only leave by night, it is very hard to establish their breeding presence. DDT caused the breeding to decrease for a while, but as of l987 there were 42 breeding pairs limited to the islands around Bermuda. (There is on photograph for this species.)

Tube Nosed Swimmers (Order Procellariiformes) contains three families of primarily marine birds. There are about 114 different species in this order. The albatrosses, shearwaters, storm petrels, and diving petrels are contained in this order.

Aves contains about 8,650 different species of living birds known to science. Each year about one new species is discovered in some remote rain forest or remote island. In addition, scientists have been raising many subspecies to full species status which may raise the species count to 10,000. Birdlife recognizes 10,027 species as of 2011.

However, each year about one species goes extinct. The rate of extinction is increasing, and the rate of new discovery is decreasing, so that the number of bird species will soon begin to decline rapidly. Although different taxonomists would organize the birds differently, there are approximately twenty-seven orders of birds. These orders are broken down into about one hundred and fifty-five different families.

Recent research of the genetic structure of some of the shore birds and owls would indicate that the present organization of orders and families should have some modification.

The birds are a worldwide group of animals that are characterized by having the front limbs modified into wings that are used for flying. Perhaps the most unique feature of the birds is the feathers. These feathers are made up of a central support called a quill and a series of small filaments that are hooked together as barbs.

For many years it was believed that Archaeopteryx discovered in Bavaria was the oldest bird from about 150 million years ago. However, in l986, Sankar Chattterjee, a Texas paleontologist, reportedly discovered a bird in the genus Protoavis that lived about 225 million years ago.

When this project was begun in 1978, we used Austin & Singer for bird taxonomy. Since then, we have adopted many changes, but have kept some older concepts that are still found widely in the literature. Recently, we have used Clements and Howard & Moore. Very recently, we have used Monroe and Sibley for the higher taxonomy of the perching birds.

Backboned Animals (Phylum Chordata) are the most advanced group of animals on earth. These animals are characterized by having a spinal cord or backbone. Most members have a clearly defined brain that controls the organism through a spinal cord. Fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals are in this phylum.

Currently, some taxonomists believe that the fish should be divided into two groups (sharks and regular fishes) and that there are some other primitive groups in the phylum such as hagfish or lampreys.

Animal Kingdom contains numerous organisms that feed on other animals or plants. Included in the animal kingdom are the lower marine invertebrates such as sponges and corals, the jointed legged animals such as insects and spiders, and the backboned animals such as fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

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