Pterodroma baraui
The Barau's Petrel (Pterodroma baraui) is a striking medium-sized seabird, averaging 38-40 cm in length with a wingspan of 94-98 cm, belonging to the 'gadfly petrel' genus within the family Procellariidae. Its plumage is characterized by dark sooty-grey upperparts, sharply contrasting with a pristine white belly and flanks. A distinct dark cap covers its head, offset by a prominent white forehead patch, while the underside of its long wings features a diagnostic dark 'M' pattern, visible agai...
A highly pelagic seabird, Barau's Petrel spends most of its life over the open ocean, coming ashore only to breed. It nests in burrows at high altitudes, typically between 2000 and 2800 meters, on the sparsely vegetated slopes of active and dormant volcanoes on Reunion Island.
The diet of Barau's Petrel consists primarily of small fish, squid, and various marine crustaceans, captured by surface-seizing or shallow pursuit-diving in the open ocean.
Barau's Petrel exhibits a striking duality in its daily activity: intensely nocturnal at its high-altitude breeding colonies to evade aerial predators like the Reunion Harrier, yet diurnal when foraging over the open ocean. At sea, it forages by surface-seizing and shallow pursuit-diving for smal...
The Barau's Petrel is an Indian Ocean endemic, with its entire known breeding population confined to Reunion Island. Here, colonies are established at high elevations, typically between 2000 and 2800 meters, on the rugged, sparsely vegetated slopes of the Piton des Neiges massif and the active Pi...
Endangered
- The Barau's Petrel was only scientifically described in 1963, making it a relatively recent discovery for such a distinctive species, even though local islanders were aware of its existence. - It breeds exclusively on Reunion Island, nesting on the high-altitude slopes of active and dormant vol...