Chatham Islands Petrel
Pterodroma axillaris
Gadfly petrel of medium size. Dark gray upperparts and white below with a diagonal black bar from the edge of the wing to the black base of the underwing. Has a black bill, a dark eye-patch, and pink legs and feet. Breeds only on the Chatham Islands, but can forage up 3000 km offshore. Migrates to deep waters off the South American coast. Distinguished from Black-winged Petrel by the reduced black bar on the underwing; Mottled Petrel is similar but larger, with a dark belly, lacking the diagonal bar on the wing.
Identification
The Chatham petrel is a medium-sized petrel with a mottled dark-grey and white forehead, dark grey back and upper wings, and white underparts. A black diagonal bar extends from the leading edge of underwing to a black ‘armpit’. The shoulders and upper-wing coverts are a deeper grey giving a dark M pattern across the spread upper wings. <p>The bill is black and strongly hooked tip. The eye is dark, and the legs and feet are pink, with dark outer toes and webs. The sexes are alike. <p>Chatham petrels are rarely observed away from the colony; the few at-sea records are from ships in oceanic waters.
Taxonomy
Genus: Pterodroma; Family: Procellariidae; Order: Procellariiformes.
- Scientific name
- Pterodroma axillaris
- Authority
- (Salvin, 1893)
- Order
- Procellariiformes
- Family
- Procellariidae
- Genus
- Pterodroma
Range and habitat
This species breeds only in the Chatham Islands.
- Breeding range
- PO : South East I. (=Rangatira, Chatham Is., e of South I., New Zealand)
- Non-breeding range
- to Nazca Ridge w of Peru and Chile (c South Pacific Ocean)
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
Migration pattern: Complete migrants.
Conservation
Population trend: rising.
- Population trend
- rising
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
White-faced Ibis
Plegadis chihi
Long decurved bill. Dark overall with iridescent green and reddish tones on adults. Broad white border to reddish face and red eyes. Found mainly in shallow wetlands of the western U.S. Best distinguished from Glossy Ibis by range and facial pattern. Also note more subtle features: reddish legs and paler bronzy tones to wings.
Black-hooded Antshrike
Thamnophilus bridgesi
Antshrikes have large, flat heads and large, hooked bills; they often angle their tails downward, below the line of the body. Male Black-hooded is mostly black with a slightly paler belly; note small white spots on the shoulder. The female is paler gray overall with whitish streaking on the head and breast. Most often seen in pairs in the understory of forest and edges. Follows mixed flocks. Listen for accelerating chuckle with a longer raspy note at the end.
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Calidris pusilla
Small, grayish-brown sandpiper. Typically shows relatively short, blunt-tipped bill, but this varies across the breeding range: western populations are shortest-billed, eastern populations are longest, and females have longer bills than males! Also note blackish legs, although they can appear dull gray or greenish. In breeding plumage, fairly pale grayish brown, sometimes with brighter rusty cap and cheek. Nonbreeding is plain gray above and white below. Juveniles have attractive scaly pattern on upperparts, and variable coloration: usually grayish with some buffy areas, occasionally brighter rufous. Most similar to Western and Least Sandpipers. Western averages slightly larger and longer-billed, with brighter rufous on breeding adults and juveniles; nonbreeding birds paler but extremely similar to Semipalmated. Least Sandpiper is darker and browner. Breeds on high Arctic tundra. Migrates to South America for the winter; very rarely lingers in the U.S. past November, unlike Western Sandpiper. Usually found in flocks, sometimes in very large numbers. Prefers open mudflats, but also found in marshes and beaches.
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