Fregetta maoriana
The New Zealand Storm Petrel, *Fregetta maoriana*, is a diminutive and enigmatic seabird, a true 'Lazarus species' famously rediscovered in 2003 after being presumed extinct for over 150 years. Measuring a mere 16-17 cm in length with a wingspan of 30-38 cm and weighing 30-40g, its plumage is strikingly bicolored: a sooty black head, back, and upperwings contrast sharply with a clean white belly, bisected by a prominent black central stripe. A distinctive white rump and white undertail covert...
Exclusively pelagic during non-breeding periods, spending its life at sea over deep oceanic waters; breeds in burrows on remote, predator-free offshore islands.
Primarily small marine invertebrates, particularly crustaceans, and larval fish, captured by gleaning from the ocean surface.
During the breeding season, New Zealand Storm Petrels exhibit strictly nocturnal activity at their colony sites, a crucial adaptation to avoid diurnal aerial predators. At sea, they are typically observed singly or in small, loose groups, employing a distinctive foraging strategy: 'foot-pattering...
The New Zealand Storm Petrel's known breeding range is currently restricted to a single island, Little Barrier Island (Hauturu) in the Hauraki Gulf, off the North Island of New Zealand. Observations at sea are concentrated in the waters around northern New Zealand, particularly the Hauraki Gulf, ...
Critically Endangered
- This species was presumed extinct for over 150 years until its miraculous rediscovery in 2003, earning it the title of a 'Lazarus species'. - Its breeding colony was only definitively located in 2013 on Little Barrier Island (Hauturu), a full decade after its rediscovery. - New Zealand Storm Pe...