Least Storm-Petrel

Hydrobates microsoma

Audubon Illustration

John James Audubon, Birds of America (1827-1838). Public domain.

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About the Least Storm-Petrel

The least storm petrel (Hydrobates microsoma) is a small seabird of the storm petrel family Hydrobatidae. It is 13–15 cm in length, with a wingspan of 32 cm. It is the smallest member of the order Procellariiformes. It was formerly defined in the genus Oceanodroma before that genus was synonymized with Hydrobates. It breeds on islands off the Baja Peninsula and Gulf of California of Mexico in rock crevices or small burrows in soft earth and lays a single white egg.The single egg that this bird lays is white with a wreath of fine black specks around one and sometimes both ends. Like most petrels, its walking ability is limited to a short shuffle to the burrow. It is a colonial nester. It spends the rest of the year at sea, reaching as far south as the tropical Pacific South America.

Source: Wikipedia

Classification

Scientific name: Hydrobates microsoma
Family: Northern Storm-Petrels
Order: Procellariiformes

Similar species

Other members of the northern storm-petrels family recorded in North America — a useful place to start if you are not certain of your identification.

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