Madeiran Storm-petrel
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| Oceanodroma castro (Harcourt, 1851) |
- Madeiran Petrel redirects here. For Madeira Petrel, go here
The Madeiran Storm-petrel, Oceanodroma castro, is of the storm-petrel family Hydrobatidae. In North America it is known as the Band-rumped Storm-Petrel.
Madeiran Storm-petrel breeds on islands in the warmer parts of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. These include the Azores and Madeira in the Atlantic, and the Galapagos Islands in the Pacific. It nests in colonies close to the sea in rock crevices and lays a single white egg. It spends the rest of the year at sea.
This storm-petrel 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.
Madeiran Storm-petrel is 19-21 cm in length, with a 43-46 cm wingspan, and is mainly black with an extensive white rump. It is similar to Leach's Storm-petrel, with its forked tail, long wings, and flight behaviour, but Leach's has a more forked tail and differently shaped white rump.
[edit] References
- BirdLife International (2004). Oceanodroma castro. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
