Hydrobates castro
The Band-rumped Storm Petrel, Hydrobates castro, is a captivating and enigmatic seabird of the Hydrobatidae family, part of a taxonomically complex group now often considered a cryptic species complex. Measuring 20-22 cm in length with a wingspan of 43-46 cm and weighing 40-55 grams, its dark sooty-brown plumage is distinctively marked by a bright white rump band and subtly forked tail, making it identifiable even at sea. In flight, its unusually long legs extend beyond the tail, contributing...
Exclusively pelagic outside the breeding season, the Band-rumped Storm Petrel inhabits tropical and subtropical oceanic waters. It breeds on remote, predator-free islands and islets, nesting in rock crevices and burrows, typically from sea level up to several hundred meters elevation.
Feeds primarily on small fish, cephalopods (squid), and marine crustaceans. Forages by surface-seizing, dipping, and patting the water surface to pick prey from the ocean's surface.
At sea, Band-rumped Storm Petrels are primarily diurnal, foraging over deep ocean waters by surface-patting and dipping for prey. They exhibit a characteristic flight, alternating shallow wingbeats with short glides, often appearing to "dance" above the waves. During the breeding season, they bec...
The Band-rumped Storm Petrel boasts a wide, disjunct distribution across tropical and subtropical oceans, reflecting a complex evolutionary history. Breeding populations are found on remote islands in the Atlantic (primarily Macaronesia, including the Azores, Madeira, and Canary Islands; also St....
Least Concern
- The Band-rumped Storm Petrel is one of the few bird species known to employ "olfactory navigation," using their sense of smell to locate their specific burrows on dark, remote islands. - They are strictly nocturnal at their breeding colonies, landing and taking off only after sunset and before ...