Overview

Storm Petrel: Small, swallow-sized seabird. Brown-black on head, back, underparts, and square-tipped tail. White rump and white sides to rump. Also has white stripe on underwing. Wings black-brown and bill black with short tube on top. Flight fluttering with glides low over the water.

Storm Petrel: Summer breeder in the UK & Ireland. Birds arrive at breeding areas in spring and depart for South African winter grounds in mid-autumn. Birds come ashore only to breed and are active only at night. They can be found in western Ireland and Wales, and northern Scotland and the offshore islands.

Jean Roche Sound

Storm Petrel 1

• Title: Storm Petrel 1
• Description: Nocturnal purring song of a male.
• Recordist: Jean Roche
• Date Imported: "February 21, 2011"
• Location: uk

Storm Petrel 3

• Title: Storm Petrel 3
• Description: Song and calls of pair at night near nest.
• Recordist: Jean Roche
• Date Imported: "February 21, 2011"
• Location: uk

Voice Text

"ahrrr-r-r-r-r-r"

• The Storm Petrel, also called the European Storm Petrel, is the only member of the genus Hydrobates.
• It is strictly nocturnal at the breeding sites to avoid predation by gulls and skuas, and will even avoid coming to land on clear moonlit nights. Like most petrels, its walking ability is limited to a short shuffle to the burrow.
• This bird is familiar to sailors, and much folklore is associated with this harbinger of stormy weather. Its most common folk name is "Mother Carey's Chicken," perhaps derived from "Mother Mary."
• A group of petrels are known collectively as a "gallon" or "tank" of petrels.

• Black Tern
• Leach's Petrel
• Sooty Shearwater
• House Martin
• Great Shearwater
• Wilson's Petrel

Storm Petrels (Hydrobatidae)

ORDER

A taxonomic order of tube-nosed seabirds, the PROCELLARIIFORMES (pronounced pro-sel-lehr-EYE-ih-FOR-meez) includes large, long-winged families such as the shearwaters and albatrosses, and the much smaller storm petrels.

FAMILY TAXONOMY

In the Hydrobatidae (pronounced heye-droh-BAH-tih-dee) are included twenty-two species of storm petrels in seven genera found throughout the oceans of the world (IOC World Bird List, version 2.3).

EUROPE

Seven species of storm petrels in five genera have occurred in European waters. The bunting-sized Storm Petrel, the numerous Leach’s Storm Petrel, and the vagrant White-bellied Storm Petrel are members of this maritime family.

KNOWN FOR

The Wilson’s Storm Petrel is known for the peculiar behaviour of pattering its feet on the surface of the water while foraging. Storm Petrels in general are known for being birds of the marine environment that only come to shore to breed.

PHYSICAL

Storm Petrels are small birds with long wings and medium to long tails that can be forked, square, or wedge-like in shape. Their legs are fairly long with webbed feet, and they have rounded pigeon-like heads. The bills of storm petrels are small with a slightly hooked tip and tube-like nasal structures to expel excess salt.

COLORATION

Except for the grey and white White-faced Storm Petrels, European members of this family have dark, sooty brown or black plumages. Some species also show a bit of grey or white in the wings, and white at the base of the tail. The webs of the feet of the Wilson’s Storm Petrel are yellow (a characteristic rarely visible in field conditions).

GEOGRAPHIC HABITAT

Storm Petrels are birds that only occur in salt-water habitats and can be found off both the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts of Europe. Usually, they are only encountered well offshore even near their breeding grounds because they come to land at night.

MIGRATION

European storm petrels are very long distance migrants, the Wilson’s Storm Petrel in particular making incredible voyages from its breeding grounds in the Antarctic to waters of the Northern Hemisphere.

HABITS

Storm Petrels nest in colonies and often forage in flocks that fly low over the water to pick small sea creatures and carrion off the surface. Flight patterns differ by species; some pattering the surface of the water with their feet, others flying in zig-zags and other species with rapid, almost bat-like wingbeats.

CONSERVATION

None of the European members of this family are threatened with extinction. A few other species that occur elsewhere are endangered, though, due to introduced predators on the islands they use for nesting.

INTERESTING FACTS

Like other Procellariiformes, storm petrels are long-lived for being small birds; some individuals have lived for over thirty years. They are also highly nocturnal when coming to land to avoid depredation by large gulls. The name “petrel" is thought to have been derived from the name “Peter," and is an allusion between the story of that Christian saint walking on water and the birds’ doing the same thing while foraging.

Artist

Michael Oberhofer