Programming Grails

Colophon

The animal on the cover of Programming Grails is an Antarctic giant petrel (Macronectes giganteus), also known as a southern giant petrel. These large seabirds live in the southern hemisphere, nesting on subtropic islands around South America, Australia, and Africa, as well as the Antarctic continent. The name “petrel” is derived from Saint Peter, because this family of birds appear to run across water when they are taking off into the air.

This is the largest of the petrels, with an average wingspan of 73–81 inches. Males weigh around 11 pounds, and females range from 7–18 pounds. The majority of Antarctic giant petrels have a light head and neck, with mottled brown plumage on the rest of their body. On their upper beaks are “naricorns,” tubular nostrils used to expel excess salt after drinking seawater (with the help of a gland that secretes concentrated saline).

Breeding season occurs in October and November, and the birds form loose colonies while they are nesting. Giant petrel nests are built on the ground, and are made of moss, grass, and stones. They only lay one egg at a time, which is incubated between 55–66 days.

Though the giant petrel catches squid and fish near the surface of the water and occasionally hunts other seabirds, it is largely a scavenger, eating whale, seal, and penguin carcasses that have washed ashore. This carrion diet is of note when considering one of their nicknames, “stinker”: their defense mechanism is to regurgitate food and oil and spit it ...