Ringed Storm-Petrel
Hydrobates hornbyi
Handsome small seabird of Humboldt Current; not seen from shore, but breeds inland in Atacama Desert where it visits colonies at night to avoid predators. Plumage unlike all other storm-petrels, with black cap and collar, and white underparts contrasting with dark underwings. Upperparts also striking, with black cap, strong upperwing pattern, and gray tail (no contrasting white rump). Larger than most storm-petrels in its range, but size similar to Markham’s and Black Storm-Petrels, with which it readily associates.
Taxonomy
The ringed storm petrel was formally described in 1854 by the English zoologist George Gray and given the binomial name Thalassidroma hornbyi. He chose the specific epithet to honour Admiral Sir Phipps Hornby who had obtained the specimen. The ringed storm petrel was formerly placed in the genus Oceanodroma but is now placed in the genus Hydrobates, the only genus in the Northern storm petrel family Hydrobatidae.
- Scientific name
- Hydrobates hornbyi
- Authority
- (Gray, GR, 1854)
- Order
- Procellariiformes
- Family
- Hydrobatidae
- Genus
- Hydrobates
Range and habitat
- Breeding range
- PO : Atacama Desert, mostly in mts. 85 km inland (n Chile)
- Non-breeding range
- Humboldt Current of s Ecuador to nc Chile
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
It is difficult to know how threatened, if at all, the ringed storm petrel is. At sea, estimates put the population in the thousands or tens of thousands. Recently a vagrant ringed storm petrel was seen off the coast of California by a team from the NOAA.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Oriental Skylark
Alauda gulgula
Chunky brown songbird with a weak crest, typically found on the ground in open fields and meadows. Darker above than below, with fine black streaking on the chest and light chestnut ear coverts with dark border. Very similar to Eurasian Skylark, with which it shares much of its range, but Oriental has buffy, not white, outer tail edges and trailing edge of wing. Breeding males “skylark,” singing a series of variable notes while hovering high above the territory.
Senegal Thick-knee
Burhinus senegalensis
Very large shorebird that is similar to Eurasian and Water Thick-knees, but with a longer and heavier bill. Also note the gray mid-wing panel without a black-and-white upper border. Immature Eurasian Thick-knees can also have a simpler wing pattern similar to Senegal, and identification of those birds best determined by structure and habitat. More connected to aquatic habitats than Eurasian Thick-knee, but not as much as Water Thick-Knee. Noisy, especially at night, producing a variety of loud whistles and trills.
African Paradise-Flycatcher
Terpsiphone viridis
This remarkable flycatcher occurs in both rufous and white morphs, but it always has grayish underparts and a strong crest. The breeding male has ludicrous central tail feathers, twenty centimeters long, that trail like the ribbon of a rhythmic gymnast, while the female lacks the tail streamers and has a smaller crest. Singles and pairs occasionally join flocks in open woodland, riverine forest, and thickets, avoiding lowland evergreen forest. Very vocal, often giving a repeated grating “dzee-zwee” call and a sweet melodic “willie-willie-willie-wee-wooo” song. The very similar Rufous-vented Paradise-Flycatcher differs from African Paradise-Flycatcher by having a rufous undertail and a shorter crest.
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