Species: Oceanodroma leucorhoa
Leach's Storm-Petrel
Species
Encyclopedia of Puget Sound
See Naveen (1981) for detailed information on storm-petrel identification.
Classification
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Craniata
Class
Aves
Order
Procellariiformes
Family
Hydrobatidae
Genus
Oceanodroma
NatureServe
Classification
Other Global Common Names
Océanite cul-blanc - Painho-de-Caude-Forcada - Paíño de Leach
Informal Taxonomy
Animals, Vertebrates - Birds - Other Birds
Formal Taxonomy
Animalia - Craniata - Aves - Procellariiformes - Hydrobatidae - Oceanodroma - >
Ecology and Life History
See Naveen (1981) for detailed information on storm-petrel identification.
Short General Description
A medium-sized storm-petrel.
Migration
false - false - true - Arrives on breeding grounds in Maine in April-May (Cowger 1976). Present in tropical latitudes November-March (Pratt et al. 1987). Mainly May-August off Costa Rica (evidently nonbreeders, Stiles and Skutch 1989).
Non-migrant
false
Locally Migrant
false
Food Comments
Surface feeder. Feeds on fishes, crustaceans, and small squids. In northwest Atlantic, diet mainly myctophids and amphipods, also euphausiids and other crustaceans (Montevecchi et al. 1992).
Reproduction Comments
One egg is incubated by both adults (in turn every 4-6 days) for 41-42 days. Chick is deserted by parents in about 40 days, leaves for sea in 63-70 days (Harrison 1978). Most do not begin breeding until 5th summer (Cowger 1976). Socially and genetically monogamous (Mauck et al. 1995).
Ecology Comments
Occurs singly or in small loose groups in Pacific off Costa Rica (Stiles and Skutch 1989). A banded bird was captured in its nest burrow when 24 years old (Terres 1980). Recorded as prey of short-eared owl in Massachusetts (Holt 1987).
Length
20
Weight
40
Conservation Status
NatureServe Global Status Rank
G5
Global Status Last Reviewed
2008-01-14
Global Status Last Changed
1996-11-20
Other Status
LC - Least concern
Distribution
Conservation Status Map
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Global Range
H - >2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles) - H - Breeding range in the northwestern Pacific Ocean extends from the Commander Islands south to the Kuril Islands and Hokkaido, Japan (AOU 1998). Breeding range in the eastern Pacific Ocean includes southern Alaska (including the Aleutian Islands), British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, California, and Baja California (Los Coronados, San Benito, and Guadalupe Islands, and Alijos Rocks). Breeding range in the western Atlantic Ocean extends from southern Labrador to Maine (Casco Bay) and Massachusetts (Penikese Islands). Breeding range in the eastern Atlantic Ocean includes Iceland, Faeroe Islands, Norway, Scotland, and Ireland (AOU 1998). <br><br>Southern Hemisphere: Potential for colonizing Southern Hemisphere: New Zealand and South Africa. Whittington et al. (2001) reported the first confirmed breeding (20 pairs) on Dyer Island off the coast of South Africa (AOU 1998). <br><br>This storm-petrel ranges at sea in the Pacific Ocean from the breeding areas south to the Hawaiian, Revillagigedo, and Galapagos lands, and in the western Pacific to Indonesia and New Guinea; and in the Atlantic Ocean south along both coasts to Florida, the West Indies, Caribbean Sea, Brazil, and South Africa, rarely but regularly also to the west coast of Greenland (AOU 1998).<br><br>Casual occurrences extend to the west coast of Greenland and eastern Atlantic islands, Mediterranean Sea, and western Europe (Huntington et al. 1996, AOU 1998).
Global Range Code
H
Global Range Description
>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)