New Zealand storm petrel

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New Zealand storm petrel
Oceanites maorianus.jpg
Status NZTCS NV.svg
Nationally Vulnerable (NZ TCS) [2]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Class: Aves
Order: Procellariiformes
Family: Oceanitidae
Genus: Fregetta
Species:
F. maoriana
Binomial name
Fregetta maoriana
(Mathews, 1932)
Synonyms

Oceanites maorianus
Fregetta maorianus

The New Zealand storm petrel (Fregetta maoriana) is a small seabird of the family Oceanitidae endemic to New Zealand. Thought to be extinct since 1850, a series of sightings from 2003 to the present indicated the presence of a previously unknown colony. [3] [4] The population of New Zealand storm petrels has been estimated to be less than 2000. [5]

Contents

Description

The New Zealand storm petrel is a small seabird, dark brown/black above, except for its white rump. The underparts are black from the throat to the breast, with a white belly that has black streaking, and the feet project well beyond the tail. This storm petrel is strictly nocturnal at the breeding sites to avoid predation by larger and more aggressive gulls and skuas. Like most petrels, its walking ability is limited to a short shuffle to the burrow. It differs from the more common petrel species found in New Zealand, Wilson's storm petrel (O. oceanicus), by its pale bar on the upper wing, white belly with streaking, narrow white panel on the underwings, longer legs, and dark webs to the feet. Outside the breeding season, it is pelagic, remaining at sea, and this, together with its remote breeding sites, makes it a difficult bird to observe.

Taxonomy

The specific epithet honours the Māori, the native people of New Zealand. The New Zealand storm petrel has on occasion been considered a subspecies or even variant of Wilson's storm petrel, but is quite distinct. In 2011, DNA samples from museum specimens in England and France matched those of birds in the Hauraki Gulf. [6] The study also suggested the species is probably more closely related to storm petrels in the genus Fregetta than Oceanites . [7]

Rediscovery

New Zealand storm petrel photographed in Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand Oceanites maorianus-2.jpg
New Zealand storm petrel photographed in Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand

It had been believed to be extinct, but on 25 January 2003, a possible sighting was made by Sav Saville, Brent Stephenson, and others close to the Mercury Islands off the Coromandel Peninsula of New Zealand's North Island, leading to several inconclusive photographs and an article being published. On 17 November 2003, while looking for black-bellied storm petrels and white-faced storm petrels, Bob Flood and Bryan Thomas obtained good photographs and video of 10 to 20 New Zealand storm petrels off Great Barrier and Little Barrier Islands in the Hauraki Gulf. [8] Subsequently, four storm petrels were captured and released in a similar area in late 2005/early 2006, three with radio transmitters attached. Tour operators have also regularly seen these birds on the Hauraki Gulf since this time.

The tagged birds were initially only tracked at sea; efforts to find the birds' breeding location were unsuccessful until 2013, when a breeding site on Little Barrier Island was found. [9] A team of researchers from Auckland University led by Chris Gaskin and Matt Rayner discovered the breeding site in the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park in February 2013. Researchers will continue observing the birds from a distance to prevent disturbing the breeding cycle. They hope to establish the distribution and population of the remaining New Zealand storm petrels. [10] In February 2014, an egg of the New Zealand storm petrel on Little Barrier Island was first discovered. It measured 31 mm by 23 mm and was coloured white with a fine dusting of pink spots concentrated at one end. [11]

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-faced storm petrel</span> Species of bird

The white-faced storm petrel, also known as white-faced petrel is a small seabird of the austral storm petrel family Oceanitidae. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Pelagodroma.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magenta petrel</span> Species of bird

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Barrier Island</span> Island in the Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand

Little Barrier Island, or Hauturu in Māori, lies off the northeastern coast of New Zealand's North Island. Located 80 kilometres (50 mi) to the north of Auckland, the island is separated from the mainland to the west by Jellicoe Channel, and from the larger Great Barrier Island to the east by Cradock Channel. The two aptly named islands shelter the Hauraki Gulf from many of the storms of the Pacific Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westland petrel</span> Species of bird

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black petrel</span> Species of bird

The black petrel, also called Parkinson's petrel, is a medium-sized, black-plumaged petrel, the smallest of the Procellaria. The species is an endemic breeder of New Zealand, breeding only on Great Barrier Island and Little Barrier Island, off the North Island. At sea it disperses as far as Australia and Ecuador.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-bellied storm petrel</span> Species of bird

The white-bellied storm petrel is a species of seabird in the family Oceanitidae. It is found in Angola, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, French Polynesia, French Southern Territories, Maldives, Namibia, New Zealand, Perú, Saint Helena, and South Africa. Its natural habitat is open seas.

<i>Fregetta</i> Genus of birds

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-bellied storm petrel</span> Species of bird

The black-bellied storm petrel is a species of seabird in the family Oceanitidae.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grey-faced petrel</span> Species of bird

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The Noises are a collection of islands lying northeast of Rakino Island in Auckland's Hauraki Gulf, off the coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The largest and most forested islands are Ōtata and Motuhoropapa; Orarapa and Maria/Ruapuke are also significant. After a rat eradication campaign in the 1960s, Maria was the first New Zealand island to become predator-free. The lack of invasive predators, intact native forest, and large numbers of breeding seabirds give the Noises significant conservation value. There has however been a marked decline in marine biodiversity surrounding the islands from over-fishing.

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References

  1. BirdLife International (2018). "Fregetta maoriana". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2018: e.T22728808A132659638. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22728808A132659638.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. "Fregetta maoriana. NZTCS". nztcs.org.nz. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  3. Flood (2003). "The New Zealand storm-petrel is not extinct. it was last seen in 2003". Birding World. 16: 479–483.
  4. "NZ seabird returns 150 years on". BBC News. 24 December 2003.
  5. Rayner, M J; Gaskin, C P; Taylor, G A; Tennyson, A J D; Fitzgerald, N B; Baird, K A; Friesen, M R; Ross, J; Ismar-Rebitz, S M H (2020). "Population estimation of the New Zealand storm petrel (Fregetta maoriana) from mark-recapture techniques at Hauturu/Little Barrier Island and from at-sea resightings of banded birds". Notornis. 67 (3): 503–510.
  6. Woulfe, Catherine (2011-09-25). "Big flap over little dead bird". Stuff.co.nz. New Zealand. Retrieved 2011-09-25.
  7. Robertson, Bruce; Brent M. Stephenson; Sharyn J. Goldstein (2011). "When rediscovery is not enough: Taxonomic uncertainty hinders conservation of a critically endangered bird". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 61 (3): 949–952. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2011.08.001. PMID   21855642.
  8. "The New Zealand Storm-petrel is not Extinct" Archived 2004-04-09 at the Wayback Machine , Wrybill Birding
  9. "New Zealand Storm-petrel discovered breeding 50 km from Auckland City". BirdLife International. 25 February 2013. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
  10. Mason, Cassandra (February 25, 2013). "Critically endangered NZ storm petrel found breeding". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  11. "First NZ storm petrel egg found by scientists". New Zealand Herald. February 25, 2013. Retrieved 1 March 2014.

Further reading