White-faced storm-petrel

Pelagodroma marina

Photo by Philip Griffin (New Zealand Birds Online)

Common name:
white-faced storm-petrel (en); calcamar (pt); océanite frégate (fr); paíño pechialbo (es); fregattensturmschwalbe (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Procellariiformes
Family Hydrobaridae

Range:
The white-faced storm-petrel breeds in remote oceanic islands in the Atlantic, such as Tristão da Cunha, Cape Verde, the Canary islands and the Selvagem islands, as well as on the coasts of Australia and New Zealand. Outside the breeding season they can be found over vast areas of the ocean, including the North Atlantic as far as the British isles and the south-eastern coast of Canada, the South Atlantic as far south as the coasts of Argentina and South Africa, in the Indian Ocean from the coasts of Somalia, the Persian Gulf and India to Australia, and in the Pacific Ocean from Australia and New Zealand to the coasts of Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Panama.

Size:
These birds are 19-21 cm long and have a wingspan of 41-44 cm. They weigh around 45 g.

Habitat:
They breed on small oceanic islands or offshore islands along the coasts of Australia and New Zealand. They forage on the open sea, mainly along the edges of the continental shelves and over upwellings in deeper waters.

Diet:
White-faced storm-petrels feed on pelagic crustaceans, small fishes and other small planktonic animals picked from the surface of the water, but are also known to eat offal from fishing vessels.

Breeding:
These birds can breed all year round, varying between different nesting colonies. They are monogamous and nest in a burrow on sandy soil, sometimes under dense vegetation. The female lays a single white egg with a few pinkish-brown spots. The egg is incubated by both parents for about 50 days. The chick is fed by both parents and fledges 52-62 days after hatching.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
The white-faced storm-petrel has a relatively large breeding range and a global population estimated at 4 million individuals. The population is suspected to be in decline owing to predation by invasive species, particularly rats, and unsustainable levels of exploitation.

European storm-petrel

Hydrobates pelagicus

Photo by Armando Caldas (Flickr)

Common name:
European storm-petrel (en); alma-de-mestre (pt); océanite tempête (fr); paíño europeo (es); sturmschwalbe (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Procellariiformes
Family Hydrobatidae

Range:
This species breeds on inaccessible islands in the north Atlantic and western Mediterranean, from iceland, through the Faroe islands and the British isles and into Iberia and as far east as Malta. They also breed in the Canary islands. Outside the breeding season they move to the waters along the southern parts of their breeding range and may also go further south along the African coast as far as Namibia and South Africa.

Size:
These birds are 15-16 cm long and have a wingspan of 37-42 cm. They weigh 20-30 g.

Habitat:
The European storm-petrel spends most of its life in the open sea, but also forages along coastal waters. They only visit land to breed, which takes place in rocky offshore islands with no mammalian predators.

Diet:
They hunt on the wing, just dipping their bill in the water to catch submerged prey such as planktonic lifeforms, small fishes, crustaceans, squids and  jellyfish. They are also known to follow in the wake of fishing ships to pick up discards and sometimes eat whale faeces.

Breeding:
European storm-petrels are monogamous and mate for life. They breed in May-August and form breeding colonies, with each pair nesting in a rock crevice or burrow. There the female lays a single white egg which is incubated by both parents for 38-50 days. The chicks is fed by both parents and fledges about 50 days after hatching. They only reach sexual maturity at 4-5 years of age.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a restricted breeding range and a global population estimated at 1,2-1,5 million individuals. The population is suspected to be in decline owing to predation by invasive species, pollution and development of breeding sites. Also, in some areas increases in numbers of skuas and large gulls appear to have increased the rate of predation.

Fork-tailed storm-petrel

Oceanodroma furcata

Common name:

fork-tailed storm-petrel (en); paínho-de-cauda-furcada (pt); océanite à queue fourchue (fr); paíño rabihorcado (es); gabelschwanz-wellenläufer (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Procellariiformes

Family Hydrobatidae

Range:

This species is found in the northern Pacific, breeding on the Aleutian islands off Alaska, and on islands along the coasts of British Columbia in Canada and the Pacific Northwest in the United States. They also breed on the Kuril islands off Kamchatka. Outside the breeding season they are mostly found offshore down the Pacific coast to central California on the North American side, and down to Japan on the Asian side.

Size:

Fork-tailed storm-petrels are 20-23 cm long and have a wingspan of 46 cm. They weigh 45 g.

Habitat:

They breeds on offshore islands in grassy areas, rocky hillsides or amongst trees, sometimes far from sea. They generally forage on the continental shelves, typically foraging closer to the shore whilst breeding.

Diet:

They mostly eat planktonic crustaceans, small fish and squid, also taking offal. They feed on the wing or by surface-seizing.

Breeding:

Fork-tailed storm-petrels breed in May-September. The species is monogamous and both sexes invest equally in breeding, nesting in burrows or crevices in talus slopes, but also using burrows they excavate and sometimes using side chambers of other burrowing seabirds. There the female lays 1 egg which is incubated by both parents for 44-56 days. The chicks are fed and brooded by both parents and fledge 60-66 days after hatching.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least concern)

This species has a very large breeding range and a global population estimated at 6 million individuals. The population is suspected to be increasing as several islands have been recolonised following the eradication of introduced predators.