Black Storm-Petrel

Oceanodroma melaniaOrder: PROCELLARIIFORMES Family: Storm-Petrels (Hydrobatidae)

Codes: Common Name: BLSP Scientific Name: OCEMEL ITIS Taxonomic No.: 174640

Birdman Mel's Backyard Tips

Overview

Black Storm-Petrel: Small seabird, brown-black overall with long, dark wings showing pale bar on upper side, and forked tail. The hooked bill is dark and has a tube on top. Legs and feet are black. Flight is mothlike with deep, steady wing beats. Comes closer to shore than most other storm-petrels.

Range and Habitat

Black Storm-Petrel: Breeds on islands off both coasts of Baja California, but occurs along the Pacific coast from northern California to South America. Nests on rocky islands; rest of the year is spent on open ocean.

Topo Map: Gull-like Body

Voice Text

"tuck-a-roo"

Interesting Facts

The Black Storm-Petrel is the largest and most commonly seen of the all-dark storm-petrels in California. It is also the species most likely to enter bays and estuaries in search of its food.

Colonies are attended nocturnally in order to avoid predatory birds such as gulls, peregrine falcons, and owls.

It has two wintering grounds, one in the California Current off Central California and another further south off the coast of Central America as far south as Colombia. It is thought to migrate in this fashion in order to avoid hurricanes in its breeding grounds.

Bird Term Glossary

Author

Gary Owen Dick

Artist

Irina Rud-Volga

Percevia^® Registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

The Percevia field guides, database and search protocol patent pending.

The best bird guide and bird watching search engine to identify birds!

Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Black Storm-Petrel

● Song: "tuck-a-roo"

● Foraging & Feeding: Black Storm-Petrel: Feeds on crustaceans, small fish, and plankton captured just below the water surface. Hovers above the water with its feet hanging down and "dances" or "patters" on the surface while feeding

● Breeding & nesting: Black Storm-Petrel: One red brown spotted, white egg is laid in natural cavity, rock crevice or in a burrow dug by another species. Nest is sometimes lined with leaves. Both parents incubate the egg for 18 days.

● Similar species: Black Storm-Petrel: Ashy Storm-Petrel is smaller with shallower wing beats. Least Storm-Petrel is much smaller with more rapid wing beats and a wedge-shaped tail. Other storm-petrels have white rumps.

Flight Pattern

Mothlike flight., Mothlike flight.

● Range & Habitat: Black Storm-Petrel: Breeds on islands off both coasts of Baja California, but occurs along the Pacific coast from northern California to South America. Nests on rocky islands; rest of the year is spent on open ocean.

^BreedingMonogamous, Colonial

^PopulationStable

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight2.1 Ounces

Gull-like Body

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America