Dark-rumped Petrel

Pterodroma phaeopygiaOrder: PROCELLARIIFORMES Family: Petrels and Shearwaters (Procellariidae)

Codes: Common Name: GAPE Scientific Name: PTEPHA ITIS Taxonomic No.: 174578

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Overview

Dark-rumped Petrel: Medium petrel with dark slate-gray upperparts and white underparts. Sides of neck and underwing margins are dark. Bill is relatively short, black, and hooked. Legs and feet are pink-brown. Tail is white and wedge-shaped. Feeds on suqid, crustaceans, and fish. AKA Galapagos Petrel.

Range and Habitat

Dark-rumped Petrel: Found only on the Galapagos and Hawaiian Islands. Nests in a variety of environments from rain forests to sub-alpine rocky cliffs and will breed successfully as long as they are protected from predators. Pelagic; comes to land only to breed.

Topo Map: Gull-like Body

Voice Text

"oo ah oo"

Interesting Facts

Dark-rumped Petrels are often called gadfly petrels because of their erratic, swooping flight behavior at sea. It is also known as the Hawaiian Petrel.

It is now widely reported that the A.O.U. has voted to split Dark-rumped Petrel into two species: Galapagos Petrel Pterodroma phaeopygia and Hawaiian Petrel P. sandwichensis.

Current breeding-population estimates from known nest sites on the islands of Maui and Hawai‘i range from 450 to 650 pairs.

A group of petrels are collectively known as a "gallon" and a "tank" of petrels.

Bird Term Glossary

Author

Gary Owen Dick

Related Birds

Bulwer's Petrel
Mottled Petrel
Murphy's Petrel
Bermuda Petrel
Black-capped Petrel
Herald Petrel

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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.

Dark-rumped Petrel

● Song: "oo ah oo"

● Foraging & Feeding: Dark-rumped Petrel: Feeds on squid, crustaceans, and fish. Forages by seizing prey at water surface; also scavenges.

● Breeding & nesting: Dark-rumped Petrel: One white egg is laid in a burrow on a large rock outcrop, under a cinder cone, or under old lichen-covered lava at elevations above 7,200 ft. Eggs are incubated for 55 days.

● Similar species: Dark-rumped Petrel: Juan Fernandez Petrel has an indistinct or partial dark stripe on underwings and a definite "M" across upperparts.

Flight Pattern

Erratic, high-arching and swooping flight.

● Range & Habitat: Dark-rumped Petrel: Found only on the Galapagos and Hawaiian Islands. Nests in a variety of environments from rain forests to sub-alpine rocky cliffs and will breed successfully as long as they are protected from predators. Pelagic; comes to land only to breed.

^BreedingMonogamous, Mates for life

^PopulationEndangered in limited range in U.S.

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight12 Ounces

Gull-like Body

Underparts

Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

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