Pachyptila

Pachyptila is a genus of seabirds in the family Procellariidae and the order Procellariiformes. The members of this genus and the blue petrel form a sub-group called prions. They range throughout the southern hemisphere, often in the much cooler higher latitudes. Three species, the broad-billed prion (Pachyptila vittata), the Antarctic prion (Pachyptila desolata) and the fairy prion (Pachyptila turtur), range into the subtropics.

==Taxonomy== The genus Pachyptila was introduced in 1811 by the German zoologist Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger. The name combines the Ancient Greek pakhus meaning "dense" or "thick" with ptilon meaning "feather" or "plumage". The type species was subsequently designated as the broad-billed prion by English naturalist Prideaux John Selby in 1840. The English name "prion" comes from the Ancient Greek ('', "saw"), in reference to the serrated edges of its bill.