Black-winged Petrel
Pterodroma nigripennis
A small petrel with relatively long, broad wings. The underwings appear darker than in most other small petrels because of the wide black margin around the edges of the wings and a broad black diagonal bar on the inner wing. Migrates through Hawaiian waters, usually from spring through fall. Regularly seen offshore from boats, occasionally from shore.
Identification
The black-winged petrel is a small species of petrel with long, narrow wings. Its length averages 29 centimetres (11 in) and its wingspan averages 67 centimetres (26 in). It has a small head and short black beak, a slender body and square-cut tail. It has a pale grey cap and nape, white cheeks and a dark grey collar. The dorsal surface of the body is pale grey and the upperside of the wings is pale grey near the base but dark greyish-black along the outer edge. The underparts are white and the outer edges of the wings are black. The tail is barred in black and white.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Pterodroma nigripennis
- Authority
- (Rothschild, 1893)
- Order
- Procellariiformes
- Family
- Procellariidae
- Genus
- Pterodroma
Range and habitat
The black-winged petrel is a pelagic species native to the East Pacific Ocean, living out at sea and only coming to land in order to breed. Its breeding range stretches from Lord Howe Island and eastern Australia to New Caledonia, New Zealand (the Kermadec Islands, Three Kings Islands, Chatham Islands) and the Austral Islands (French Polynesia) in the east. The largest colony in the world is on Macauley Island (Kermadec Islands). Outside the breeding season it migrates further north and most commonly occurs in a broad belt of ocean between Peru and Hawaii.
- Breeding range
- PO : Round I. (ne of Mauritius, c Mascarenes, sw Indian Ocean); Lord Howe and Norfolk is. (far e of Australia), Grande Terre (New Caledonia), n, e North I. and Kermadec Is. (ne of North I.) and Chatham Is. (e of South I.; New Zealand), Tonga and Cook Is. (c Polynesia), Bass Rock (=Marotiri, se Austral Is., e Polynesia), and Rapa (e Tubuai=Austral Is., se Polynesia)
- Non-breeding range
- to waters off se Australia and Pacific Ocean se of Japan e to nw Mexico and Central America, Galápagos and Peru
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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