Storm petrel - Storm petrel

Japanese: ウミツバメ(海燕) - ウミツバメ（英語表記）storm‐petrel

A general term for birds in the Hydrobatidae family of the order Petrels. Birds in this family are small seabirds that live in the open ocean, skillfully using their long, slender wings and legs to slip through the waves and fly as if walking on the water. They eat zooplankton (crustaceans) that rise to the surface of the ocean by picking them up with their beaks. Overall length is 15-25 cm, with a wingspan of 35-55 cm. Most are black-brown all over, but some species have white spots on their lower backs and deeply notched tails. They were named after the terrestrial swallow, the house martin, because of their similar appearance and flight style, but their flight style is more similar to that of a swallowtail butterfly or a bat.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

ミズナギドリ目ウミツバメ科Hydrobatidaeの鳥の総称。この科の鳥は外洋にすむ小型の海鳥で，細長い翼と脚を巧みに使って波の間をぬけ，海の上を歩くように飛ぶ。海の表面に浮上した動物プランクトン(甲殻類)をくちばしでつまみあげて食べる。全長15～25cm，翼の開張35～55cm。多くは全体に黒褐色で，腰に白斑をもつ種や尾が深く切れ込んでいる種もある。陸生のツバメ，イワツバメに姿かたちや飛び方が似ているためこの名がつけられたが，飛び方はむしろアゲハチョウかコウモリに似ている。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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