Black Storm Petrel (Hydrobates melania)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology: Hydrobates ("water walker") melania ("black")

 

Black Storm Petrel (Hydrobates melania) on Half Moon Bay Pelagic - September 2022

Featured Subspecies: N/A
Weight: 60g  /  Length: 23cm  /  Wingspan: 46-51cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

The Black Storm Petrel is one of a number of petrels that frequent the rich waters off the coast of California, and in this case where this species breeds. As is usual with storm petrels, they attend their colonies nocturnally so as to avoid predation from other bird species. It is the largest storm petrel found off California.

Related Species:
Order: Procellariiformes
Family: Hydrobatidae
Genus: Hydrobates
SUBSPECIES: none - monotypic 

 - Sighting Locations -

UNITED STATES 
Breeds along the Coast of all 4 Continental Pacific States
 - CALIFORNIA 2022 TRIP: Seen on the Half Moon Bay Pelagic Trip

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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Leach's Storm Petrel (Hydrobates leucorhous)

OTHER NAMES: Leach's Petrel
Latin Etymology: Hydrobates ("water walker") leucorhous ("white rumped")

Adult Leach's Storm Petrel (Hydrobates leucorhous) at Pitsford Reservoir, Northants - October 2021

Featured Subspecies: Hydrobates leucorhous leucorhous
Weight: 40-50g  /  Length: 19-22cm  /  Wingspan: 45-48cm
UK AMBER LIST / IUCN Red List: Vulnerable

The Storm Petrels in general follow some basic themes- very tiny ocean faring birds that generally nest in burrows at night to protect themselves from predators. Leach's Petrels in particularly are an incredibly widely distributed species found across the oceans of much of the Northern Hemisphere below the Arctic Circle. It is slightly larger than the two other regular Storm Petrel species of Europe nad a forked tail. Normally only seen on the open ocean or on the remote islands on which it most commonly breeds, I got lucky in this instance when a single bird appeared on Pitsford reservoir following bad weather.

Related Species:
Order: Procellariiformes
Family: Hydrobatidae
Genus: Hydrobates
SUBSPECIES: H. l. leucorhous, H. l. chapmani

 - Sighting Locations -

UNITED KINGDOM - A breeding population of 48,000 pairs that spends much of it's time out in the open ocean.

 - A single storm-wrecked individual at Pitsford Reservoir in October 2021.

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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