Black Storm-Petrel
Black Storm-Petrel
Hydrobates melania
At a Glance
This is the largest of the dark storm-petrels found off the west coast, and the one most likely to be seen from shore in southern California. It has a buoyant flight with deep wingbeats, low over the waves. The Black Storm-Petrel nests mainly on islands off western Mexico. The first breeding record for the United States was in 1976 on a rock near Santa Barbara Island, and a few may nest elsewhere in the Channel Islands.
All bird guide text and rangemaps adapted from Lives of North American Birds by Kenn Kaufman© 1996, used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Category
Gull-like Birds, Storm-Petrels
IUCN Status
Least Concern
Habitat
Open Ocean
Region
California
Behavior
Flap/Glide, Hovering, Swimming
Population
600.000
Range & Identification
Migration & Range Maps
After nesting, moves north regularly as far as central California. Common on Monterey Bay in late summer and fall during years of high water temperature. Most disappear after October, wintering south to waters off Panama and northwestern South America.
Description
9" (23 cm). The largest western storm-petrel. All black; tail rather long, forked. Flies with relatively slow, deep wingbeats.
Size
About the size of a Robin
Color
Black, Gray
Wing Shape
Long, Pointed, Tapered
Tail Shape
Forked, Notched
Songs and Calls
A loud tuck-a-roo, given at nesting colonies.
Call Pattern
Flat
Call Type
Rattle, Raucous, Scream, Trill
Habitat
Open sea. Favors warm ocean waters; off central California, fewer appear during years of colder water temperatures. Generally far offshore, but in southern California and Mexico, may occur regularly within a few miles of the mainland coast. Nests on rocky islands.
Sign up for Audubon's newsletter to learn more about birds like the Black Storm-Petrel
Behavior
Eggs
One. White, sometimes with small reddish-brown spots around larger end. Incubation probably by both sexes.
Young
Probably fed by both parents.
Feeding Behavior
Forages mostly by hovering or fluttering low over water and taking items from surface.
Diet
Includes crustaceans, small fish. Diet poorly known. May eat many small fish at times, and has been reported feeding on larval form of the spiny lobster. May also eat small squid. Scavenges floating fat from dead animals at sea.
Nesting
Breeding behavior poorly known. Nests on islands, often in small colonies. Both members of pair may rest in nesting burrow for nearly 3 months before egg-laying. Active around colonies only at night. Adults give staccato calls while flying around colonies, changing to a musical trill when inside the nest. Nest: Site is in small opening among boulders, in crevice in cliff, or in burrow (especially abandoned burrow of Cassin's Auklet). Usually no nest built, sometimes a few bits of plant material.
Conservation
Conservation Status
Numbers probably stable. Vulnerable to introduction of predators (such as rats and cats) to nesting islands.
