Gadfly petrel


The gadfly petrels or Pterodroma are a genus of about 35 species of petrels, part of the seabird order Procellariiformes. The gadfly petrels are named for their speedy weaving flight, as if evading gadflies. The flight action is also reflected in the name Pterodroma, from Ancient Greek pteron, "wing" and dromos, "runner".
The short, sturdy bills of these medium to large petrels are adapted for soft prey that they pick from the ocean surface. They have twisted intestines for digesting marine animals that have unusual biochemistries.
Their complex wing and face marking are probably for interspecific recognition.
These birds nest in colonies on islands and are pelagic when not breeding. One white egg is laid usually in a burrow or on open ground. They are nocturnal at the breeding colonies.
While generally wide-ranging, most Pterodroma species are confined to a single ocean basin, and vagrancy is not as common amongst the genus as in some other seabird species. Eleven species in this genus breed in the New Zealand region, and six of these are only found there.

Taxonomy

The genus Pterodroma was introduced in 1856 by the French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek pteron meaning "wing" with dromos meaning "racer" or "runner". The type species was subsequently designated as the great-winged petrel by the American ornithologist Elliott Coues in 1866.
The species listed here are those recognised in the online list maintained by Frank Gill, Pamela Rasmussen and David Donsker on behalf of the International Ornithological Committee, also Tennyson [et al. 2015]. The genus includes 36 species, of which two have become possibly extinct in historical times.
ImageScientific nameCommon nameDistribution
 Pterodroma macropteraGreat-winged petrelsouthern Indian and Atlantic oceans
 Pterodroma lessoniiWhite-headed petrelsubantarctic
 Pterodroma gouldiGrey-faced petrelislets off northern New Zealand
 Pterodroma incertaAtlantic petrelGough Island
 Pterodroma solandriProvidence petrelLord Howe Island and Phillip Island
 Pterodroma magentaeMagenta petrelChatham Islands
 Pterodroma ultimaMurphy's petrelPolynesia
 Pterodroma mollisSoft-plumaged petrelsouthern Atlantic and Indian oceans
to Antipodes Islands
 Pterodroma madeiraZino's petrelMadeira
- Pterodroma feaeFea's petrelCape Verde
 Pterodroma desertaDesertas petrelMadeira
- Pterodroma cahowBermuda petrelCastle Harbour, Bermuda
 Pterodroma hasitataBlack-capped petrelmontane Hispaniola and Dominica
 Pterodroma caribbaeaJamaican petrelmontane eastern Jamaica
 Pterodroma extemaJuan Fernandez petrelAlejandro Selkirk Island
- Pterodroma occultaVanuatu petrelVanua Lava
 Pterodroma neglectaKermadec petrelPacific Ocean with eccentric breeding
in the Indian Ocean on Round Island, Mauritius
 Pterodroma heraldicaHerald petrelsouthwest Pacific and Round Island
 Pterodroma arminjonianaTrindade petrelTrindade and Martim Vaz and Round Island
 Pterodroma atrataHenderson petrelsoutheast Pacific
 Pterodroma albaPhoenix petrelsouthern Pacific
 Pterodroma barauiBarau's petrelRéunion ; winters to western Australia
 Pterodroma sandwichensisHawaiian petrelHawaii
 Pterodroma phaeopygiaGalapagos petrelGalapagos Islands
 Pterodroma inexpectataMottled petrelsouthern New Zealand ; winters to Bering Sea
 Pterodroma cervicalisWhite-necked petrelPhillip Island and Kermadec Islands ;
winters southern Pacific
 Pterodroma nigripennisBlack-winged petrelRound Island and southwest Pacific ;
winters southern Pacific
 Pterodroma axillarisChatham Islands petrelRangatira Island
 Pterodroma hypoleucaBonin petrelnorthwest Pacific
 Pterodroma leucopteraGould's petrelsouthwest Pacific
 Pterodroma brevipesCollared petrelsouthwest Pacific
 Pterodroma cookiiCook's petrelGreat & Little Barrier Island, Codfish Island
 Pterodroma defilippianaMasatierra petrelDesventuradas Islands and Santa Clara Island
- Pterodroma longirostrisStejneger's petrelAlejandro Selkirk Island ; winters north Pacific
- Pterodroma pycroftiPycroft's petrelislets off northeastern New Zealand