| Band-rumped storm petrel | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Procellariiformes |
| Family: | Hydrobatidae |
| Genus: | Hydrobates |
| Species: | H. castro |
| Binomial name | |
| Hydrobates castro (Harcourt, 1851) | |
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| Synonyms | |
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The band-rumped storm petrel, Madeiran storm petrel, or Harcourt's storm petrel (Hydrobates castro) is of the storm petrel family Hydrobatidae.
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.
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. [2] In 2016, the species was reported to have also started breeding on the Mauna Loa volcano on the island of Hawaii. [3]
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.
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 [4] was actually conducted on the 'warm season' population from the Azores, which was later recognized as a distinct species (see below).
Recent discoveries of 'cold season' and 'warm season' populations, which use the same nest sites at different times of year, and also differ in terms of vocalisations and moulting period, may hint at the existence of two 'cryptic species' within the currently understood limits of the species. After population genetics analyses of mtDNA, the warm season population in the Azores was recognized as a separate species, Monteiro's storm petrel. [5]
It was formerly defined in the genus Oceanodroma before that genus was synonymized with Hydrobates . [6] It is monotypic, but the names cryptoleucura and bangsi (see above synonyms) were each formerly regarded as separate subspecies. [7]
Northern storm petrels are seabirds in the genus Hydrobates in the family Hydrobatidae, part of the order Procellariiformes. The family was once lumped with the similar austral storm petrels in the combined storm petrels, but have been split, as they were not closely related. These smallest of seabirds feed on planktonic crustaceans and small fish picked from the surface, typically while hovering. Their flight is fluttering and sometimes bat-like.
The European storm petrel, also known as British storm petrel, or just storm petrel, is a species of seabird in the northern storm petrel family, Hydrobatidae. The small, square-tailed bird is entirely black except for a broad, white rump and a white band on the under wings, and it has a fluttering, bat-like flight. The large majority of the population breeds on islands off the coasts of Europe, with the greatest numbers in the Faroe Islands, United Kingdom, Ireland, and Iceland. The Mediterranean population is a separate subspecies, but is inseparable at sea from its Atlantic relatives; its strongholds are Filfla Island (Malta), Sicily, and the Balearic Islands.
Leach's storm petrel or Leach's petrel is a small seabird of the tubenose order. It is named after the British zoologist William Elford Leach. The scientific name is derived from Ancient Greek. Hydrobates is from hydōr "water", and batēs "walker", and leucorhous is from leukos, "white" and orrhos, "rump". It was formerly defined in the genus Oceanodroma before that genus was synonymized with Hydrobates.
Zino's petrel or the freira, is a species of small seabird in the gadfly petrel genus, endemic to the island of Madeira. This long-winged petrel has a grey back and wings, with a dark "W" marking across the wings, and a grey upper tail. The undersides of the wings are blackish apart from a triangle of white at the front edge near the body, and the belly is white with grey flanks. It is very similar in appearance to the slightly larger Fea's petrel, and separating these two Macaronesian species at sea is very challenging. It was formerly considered to be a subspecies of the soft-plumaged petrel, P. mollis, but they are not closely related, and Zino's was raised to the status of a species because of differences in morphology, calls, breeding behaviour and mitochondrial DNA. It is one of Europe's most endangered seabirds, with breeding areas restricted to a few ledges high in the central mountains of Madeira.
Swinhoe's storm petrel or Swinhoe's petrel is a small, all-brown seabird of the storm petrel family Hydrobatidae.
The ashy storm petrel is a small, scarce seabird of the storm petrel family Hydrobatidae. It breeds colonially on islands off the coasts of California and Mexico, and is one of six species of storm petrel that live and feed in the rich California Current system.
The ringed storm petrel, also known as Hornby's storm petrel, is a seabird that ranges in the Humboldt Current off the coasts of South America. The species is a very distinctive member of the storm petrel family, with a dark cap, white face and underparts, forked tail and a black band across the chest. It is relatively common in the seas off Peru, Chile and Ecuador. The species is named after Admiral Sir Phipps Hornby.
The Hawaiian petrel or ʻuaʻu is a large, dark grey-brown and white petrel that is endemic to Hawaiʻi.
The least storm petrel is a small seabird of the storm petrel family Hydrobatidae. It is 13–15 cm in length, with a wingspan of 32 cm. It is the smallest member of the order Procellariiformes. It was formerly defined in the genus Oceanodroma before that genus was synonymized with Hydrobates.
The fork-tailed storm petrel is a small seabird of the storm petrel family Hydrobatidae. It is the second-most abundant and widespread storm petrel and is the only bird in its family that is bluish-grey in colour.
The wedge-rumped storm petrel is a storm petrel. It breeds in the Galápagos Islands and on the coast of Peru. It was formerly defined in the genus Oceanodroma before that genus was synonymized with Hydrobates.
Elliot's storm petrel is a species of seabird in the storm petrel family Hydrobatidae. The species is also known as the white-vented storm petrel. There are two subspecies, O. g. gracilis, which is found in the Humboldt Current off Peru and Chile, and O. g. galapagoensis, which is found in the waters around the Galápagos Islands. It is a sooty-black storm petrel with a white rump and a white band crossing the lower belly and extending up the midline of the belly. It has long legs which extend beyond the body in flight.
Markham's storm petrel is a species of storm petrel in the family Hydrobatidae. An all-black to sooty brown seabird, Markham's storm petrel is difficult to differentiate from the black storm-petrel in life, and was once described as conspecific with, or biologically identical to, Tristram's storm petrel. Markham's storm petrel inhabits open seas in the Pacific Ocean around Peru, Chile, and Ecuador, but only nests in northern Chile and Peru, with ninety-five percent of all known breeding populations in 2019 found in the Atacama Desert. First described by British ornithologist Osbert Salvin in 1883, the bird was named in honor of Albert Hastings Markham, a naval officer who collected the type specimen off Peru.
Matsudaira's storm petrel is a species of seabird in the family Hydrobatidae.
Tristram's storm petrel or ʻakihikeʻehiʻale is a species of seabird in the storm petrel family Hydrobatidae. The species' common and scientific name is derived from the English clergyman Henry Baker Tristram; the species can also be known as the sooty storm petrel. Tristram's storm petrel has a distribution across the north Pacific Ocean, predominantly in tropical seas.
Austral storm petrels, or southern storm petrels, are seabirds in the family Oceanitidae, part of the order Procellariiformes. These smallest of seabirds feed on planktonic crustaceans and small fish picked from the surface, typically while hovering. Their flight is fluttering and sometimes bat-like.
Monteiro's storm petrel is a seabird species from the storm petrel family, Hydrobatidae. The cryptic species was once considered to be conspecific with the band-rumped storm petrel. The species is endemic to the Azores.
Ainley's storm petrel is a species of seabird in the family Hydrobatidae. It breeds in the winter on Guadalupe Island off the western coast of Mexico. It ranges south to the Galápagos Islands. It is considered by some authorities to be a subspecies of Leach's storm petrel.
Baixo Islet, also known locally as Ilhéu do Carapacho and historically as Ilhéu dos Homiziados, is a small uninhabited islet group located off the southeast coast of the island of Graciosa in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. Along with Praia Islet to its north, Baixo Islet is one of two main breeding places of Monteiro's storm petrel, an endemic marine bird of the Azores.
Praia Islet is a highly vegetated uninhabited islet located approximately 1.5 kilometres away from the town of Praia off the eastern coast of the island of Graciosa in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. Along with Baixo Islet to its south, Praia Islet is one of two main breeding places of Monteiro's storm petrel, an endemic marine bird of the Azores.
