MALE BLUE PETRELS REVEAL THEIR BODY-MASS WHEN CALLING

The blue petrel Halobaena caerulea is a nocturnal burrow-dwelling seab ird: probably for this reason, sexual signalling in this species is ba sed primarily on vocalizations. In this paper, we examine the possibil ity that structural parameters of the male call can provide informatio n to females about male qualities. Several temporal parameters (durati ons and rhythm) are significantly correlated with body mass or conditi on of the males. These results are discussed in relation to the fact t hat body mass may be a good predictor of breeding success in some spec ies of seabirds.