Swinhoe's storm petrel facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Swinhoe's storm petrel |
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| Conservation status | |
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Hydrobates
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| Species: |
monorhis
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The Swinhoe's storm petrel (Hydrobates monorhis) is a small, brown seabird. It belongs to the storm petrel family, called Hydrobatidae. These birds are known for flying over the ocean.
Contents
What's in a Name?
Meaning of the Scientific Name
The scientific name, Hydrobates monorhis, comes from Ancient Greek words. Hydrobates means "water walker". This describes how the bird seems to walk on the water's surface when it feeds. Monorhis means "single nostril".
Who Was Robert Swinhoe?
The common name, Swinhoe's storm petrel, honors a British naturalist named Robert Swinhoe. He was the first person to describe this bird species in 1867. For a while, this bird was placed in a different group called Oceanodroma. But now, scientists agree it belongs in the Hydrobates group.
Where Do Swinhoe's Storm Petrels Live?
Breeding Grounds
Swinhoe's storm petrels breed on islands in the northwest Pacific Ocean. You can find their nesting sites off the coasts of Russia, China, Japan, and Korea. They build their nests in cracks in rocks close to the sea. Each pair lays just one white egg.
Migration and Winter Homes
After the breeding season, these birds spend the rest of the year at sea. They travel far, reaching the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea. This means they are true ocean travelers!
Population Numbers
Many Swinhoe's storm petrels breed on Verkhovsky Island in Russia, with about 7,500 pairs. In Japan, there are at least 1,000 pairs. Scientists believe the total world population is at least 130,000 pairs. A very large number, possibly over 75% of all Swinhoe's storm petrels, nest on one small island in South Korea called Gugeul Islet.
What Do Swinhoe's Storm Petrels Look Like?
Swinhoe's storm petrels are small birds. They are about 18 to 21 centimeters (7 to 8 inches) long. Their wingspan, which is the distance from wingtip to wingtip, is about 45 to 48 centimeters (18 to 19 inches). They are a dark brown color all over.
Flight and Feeding
These birds have a fluttering flight. They often patter, or lightly step, on the water's surface. They do this to pick up tiny food items, like plankton, from the ocean. Unlike some other storm petrels, they usually do not follow ships.
How to Tell Them Apart
It can be tricky to tell a Swinhoe's storm petrel from other similar dark storm petrels. They look a lot like Leach's storm petrel because they have a forked tail and long wings. However, Swinhoe's storm petrels do not have a white patch on their rump (the lower back). Their calls are also different. Sometimes, scientists even need to use DNA tests to be sure of the species.
How Do Swinhoe's Storm Petrels Behave?
Nocturnal Habits
When they are at their breeding sites, Swinhoe's storm petrels are active only at night. They do this to avoid predators like gulls and skuas. These larger birds might try to eat the petrels. Swinhoe's storm petrels will even avoid coming to land on bright, moonlit nights to stay safe.
Life at Sea
Like most petrels, they are not very good at walking on land. They can only shuffle a short distance to their nests. Outside of the breeding season, they live entirely out at sea. This makes them very hard to spot from land. You might only see one near the coast if a big storm pushes it there. They mostly feed while flying, dipping down to grab food from the water.
What is Their Conservation Status?
The Swinhoe's storm petrel lives across a very large area. Because of this, it was once thought to be a species of "least concern" by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. This means it was not considered to be in danger.
However, in 2012, its status was changed to "near threatened". This means that while it's not in immediate danger, its population is expected to decrease quite quickly over the next three generations. The main reason for this expected decline is the impact of introduced species. These are animals or plants brought to their habitats that cause harm, often by eating their eggs or young.
Swinhoe's Storm Petrels in the North Atlantic
Even though they usually live in the Pacific, some Swinhoe's storm petrels have been seen in the North Atlantic Ocean.
First Sightings
The very first record in the Atlantic was on July 8, 1983. A bird was found on the Selvagens islands near Madeira. Since then, more of these storm petrels have been seen at sea in the North Atlantic. Birds have also been caught and identified in countries like France, England, Spain, Norway, and again in Madeira.
North American Records
Some Swinhoe's storm petrels have even been identified in the western North Atlantic. Single birds were recorded off Hatteras, North Carolina, on August 20, 1993, August 8, 1998, and June 2, 2008. These sightings show how far these amazing birds can travel!
