Band-rumped storm petrel

Band-rumped storm petrel

Madeiran storm petrel, Harcourt's storm petrel

Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Family
Genus
SPECIES
Oceanodroma castro

The band-rumped storm petrel, Madeiran storm petrel, or Harcourt's storm petrel (Hydrobates castro ) is of the storm petrel family Hydrobatidae.

No

Nocturnal

Pi

Piscivores

Te

Terrestrial

Co

Congregatory

Ov

Oviparous

Pr

Precocial

Bu

Burrowing

So

Soaring birds

Se

Seabird

So

Social

Mi

Migrating

B

starts with

Appearance

The band-rumped storm petrel is 19–21 cm in length with a 43–46 cm wingspan, and weighs 44–49 g. It is mainly brownish black with an extensive white rump. Similar to Leach's storm petrel with the forked tail, long wings, but Leach's has a more deeply forked tail, a differently shaped (V-shaped or triangular) white rump, and a 'tern-like' flight, whereas the band-rumped storm-petrel has a more 'shearwater-like' flight.

Distribution

Geography

The species breeds on islands in the warmer parts of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. These include the Berlengas (a few tens of kilometres off mainland Portugal), the Azores, Madeira, Canary Islands and Saint Helena in the Atlantic, and in the Pacific off eastern Japan, on Kauai, Hawaii, and on the Galápagos Islands. In 2018, the species was reported to have also started breeding on the Mauna Loa volcano on the island of Hawaii.

Band-rumped storm petrel habitat map
Band-rumped storm petrel habitat map
Band-rumped storm petrel
Attribution-ShareAlike License

Habits and Lifestyle

Seasonal behavior
Bird's call

Diet and Nutrition

Individuals feed by picking up prey items (invertebrates, small vertebrates and sometimes carrion) from the water surface. A study aiming to determine the diving abilities of this species was actually conducted on the 'warm season' population from the Azores, which was later recognized as a distinct species (see below).

Mating Habits

Birds nest in colonies close to the sea in rock crevices and females lay a single white egg per breeding attempt. The band-rumped storm petrel spends the non-breeding period at sea. It is strictly nocturnal at its breeding sites to avoid predation by gulls and diurnal raptors such as peregrines, and will even avoid coming to land on clear moonlit nights. Like most petrels, its walking ability is limited to a short shuffle from/to the burrow.

References

1. Band-rumped storm petrel Wikipedia article - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Band-rumped_storm_petrel
2. Band-rumped storm petrel on The IUCN Red List site - https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/132341128/132433305
3. Xeno-canto bird call - https://xeno-canto.org/637020

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