White-winged Petrel (Pterodroma leucoptera)

Other Names (World)
White-winged Petrel, Gould's Petrel, White-winged Fulmar, Sooty-capped Petrel, White-throated Petrel, Collared Petrel (brevipes)

Family
Procellariidae (Petrels, Shearwaters)

Size
29 - 31 cm
Wingspan: 70 - 71 cm

First Described (Guide)
(Gould, 1844)

Derivation
Pter-o'-drom'-a - Gk, pteron, wing; Gk, dromos, race, running: lëüc-op'-ter-a - Gk, leucos, white; Gk, pteron, wing

Habitat
Marine, pelagic and offshore, probably in cooler tropical waters.

Range (Guide)

American Samoa (NB), Australia (B), Cook Islands (NB), Eastern Central Pacific (B) (NB), Eastern Indian Ocean (NB), French Polynesia (B), New Caledonia (B), New Zealand (NB), Niue (NB), Norfolk Island (NB), Peru (NB), Pitcairn Islands (NB), Southeast Pacific (NB), Southwest Pacific (B) (NB), Wallis and Futuna Islands (NB), Western Central Pacific (B) (NB).

Vagrant to Antarctica.

Population
Estimated population is 3,000 - 21,000 (2010) and decreasing.

Status VU
Predation by Pied Currawong (Strepera graculina), Australian Raven (Corvus coronoides) and rats appear to be the main threat.

For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Food
Fish, squid and other marine life.

Voice
A thin, cicada-like, 'zit-zit-zit-zit...' uttered in flight at night. A shrill, rapidly repeated 'peep-peep-peeoo' call. A tremulous growling 'cr-r-r-r-rrow'. Young utter a soft peeping call.

(4Kb) © ? (2)

Xeno-Canto Sound Files

Gould's Petrel (Pterodroma leucoptera) [XC461520]
by id from New South Wales, Australia (call)

Nest
In a crevice among rocks, sometimes lined with a few scraps of palm-fronds or other leaves. In colonies.

Eggs (Guide)
1; white; swollen-oval; about 50 x 37 mm. Incubation: about 49 days; both sexes, in shifts.

Young
Altricial, nidicolous. Fledging probably in 77 - 84 days.

Subspecies
The following 3 subspecies are recognised:

leucoptera (Gould, 1844) - Breeds only on Cabbage Tree Island, New South Wales.
caledonica Imber & Jenkins, 1981 - Breeds central mountains of New Caledonia.
brevipes (Peale, 1848) - South-western. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Collared Petrel (Pterodroma brevipes).

References
See References.

The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9

Files:

JPG files for White-winged Petrel (Pterodroma leucoptera) - 10 files

MP3 files for White-winged Petrel (Pterodroma leucoptera) - 2 files

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