" YOU can help make a difference, get involved... "
PCO Press Room
Sponsors
Past Events
COP15
Link to PCO
Leach's Storm-petrel
last update: Mar 25, 2009 11:43 AM
Latin name: Oceanodroma leucorhoa
Population: 8 million individuals
Cites classified: Least Concern
Where found: Circumpolar, but limited to Iceland, Newfoundland, southwestern Alaskan Island, and on the Commander Islands
Age/ life expectancy: 20 years on average
Wingspan: 44-48 cm
Length: 18-21 cm
Weight: 40-50 g
Mating/Breeding: Leach's Storm Petrels nest in colonies and build their nests on open ground at the end of a level tunnel up to one yard long. Usually the birds breed on the seashore of islands but occasionally some birds will breed along the shore of a peninsula. After mating the female petrel lays one egg. The pair of birds have one clutch yearly. Both parents incubate the eggs for about six to seven weeks and the young birds fledge in about eight weeks.
Eggs: 1 white egg, occasionally with pale-lilac spotting
Hibernation: winters at sea off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of North America
Hunting Habits: hovers over the water, rarely alighting on the surface
Feed on: crustaceans, small fish, and debris
Predators: gulls and skuas
Colour/Body: The Leach's Petrel is a small bird, but is distinctly larger than the European Storm-petrel, which it superficially resembles with its dark plumage and white rump. It can be distinguished from the European Storm-petrel and the Wilson's Storm-petrel by its larger size, forked tail, different rump pattern and flight behaviour. Some north-eastern Pacific Leach's Petrels show all-dark rumps.
Interesting Trivia:
- It is named after the British zoologist William Elford Leach.
- 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.
