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3

Tahiti Petrel (Pterodroma [Pseudobulweria] rostrata) Alternate name(s): "Peale's Petrel" Size: 38-40 cm; wing span 85-95 cm Weight: 410-520 g

Australia: Family Group 3 Family Group 3 table Southern Fulmar Antarctic Petrel Cape Petrel Mottled Petrel Black-winged Petrel Providence Petrel Grey-faced Petrel Kermadec Petrel Soft-plumaged Petrel Tahiti Petrel Buller's Shearwater Wedge-tailed Shearwater Flesh-footed Shearwater Sooty Shearwater Short-tailed Shearwater Fluttering Shearwater Hutton's Shearwater Little Shearwater Antarctic Prion Slender-billed Prion Fairy Prion Southern Giant-Petrel Northern Giant-Petrel Light-mantled Albatross Wandering Albatross Southern Royal Albatross Northern Royal Albatross Black-browed Albatross Campbell Albatross Buller's Albatross Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross Shy Albatross Common Diving-Petrel Wilson's Storm-Petrel New Zealand Storm-Petrel White-faced Storm-Petrel Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names Habitat pages Key plants Birds home page

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Tahiti Petrels are medium-sized seabirds. Their plumage is distinctive. Apart from some lighter grye-brown edge lining on the back, the head, neck and the entire back (upperparts) are dark-grey, with a chocolate-brown hue, throughout. The white underparts, from chest to central undertail coverts, are in stark contrast to the rest. The outer undertail is also dark-grey, with some feathers in the transition from white having white edges. On the upperside some individuals have a scalloped white "V". The heavy bill is dark-grey.

Taxonomy, classification See Tahiti Petrel at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Tahiti Petrel is available HERE . Tahiti Petrels populate the tropical and sub-tropical Pacific Ocean and the seas around the far-eastern tropical islands to the North of Australia, with only very few sighting reports from elsewhere (e.g. the Indian Ocean). In the Pacific Ocean their range extends from Taiwan in the North to off north-western Australia in the South and from the Timor Sea in the West to the central American coastline in the East. There are two recognized races: Nominate race "rostrata" breeds in the Marquesas and the Society Islands, while race "trouessarti" breeds in New Caledonia. Around Australia Tahiti Petrels are found in two major areas: Most sightings are reported off the East coast, from about Sydney, NSW, to Fraser Island, QLD, and further northward along the Great Barrier Reef, in the Coral Sea. The second area is the Timor Sea, between the Kimberley, WA, and Timor Leste. There are no reports of sightings from the Arafura Sea (anywhere from the Top End of the NT in the West to Cairns in the East). Tahiti Petrels breed on tropical and sub-tropical islands. When not breeding, Tahiti Petrels will mostly stay on the high seas.

Sightings Click here for sighting information M. Eaton reports finding Tahiti Petrels 22 NM off Southport, Gold Coast, QLD, in April 2018. All sighting and photographic information presented on this page has kindly been contributed by M. Eaton.

Photos

ADULT

Sex unknown

Lateral view of a Tahiti Petrel in flight (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[22 NM off Southport, Gold Coast, QLD, April 2018]

View of the upper side of a Tahiti Petrel in flight; note the cross-like appearance with straight wings (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[22 NM off Southport, Gold Coast, QLD, April 2018]

Lateral view of a Tahiti Petrel in flight; note the prominent white "V" on the rump
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[22 NM off Southport, Gold Coast, QLD, April 2018]

View of the upper side of a Tahiti Petrel in flight; note the cross-like appearance with straight wings (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[22 NM off Southport, Gold Coast, QLD, April 2018]

Lateral view of a Tahiti Petrel in flight; note the black head and neck, with otherwise white underparts, and the white "V" on the rump (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[22 NM off Southport, Gold Coast, QLD, April 2018]

Near-dorsal view of a Tahiti Petrel in low flight, left (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[22 NM off Southport, Gold Coast, QLD, April 2018]

Near-dorsal view of a Tahiti Petrel in flight (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[22 NM off Southport, Gold Coast, QLD, April 2018]

Dorsal view of a Tahiti Petrel in flight (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[22 NM off Southport, Gold Coast, QLD, April 2018]

Dorsal view of a Tahiti Petrel in flight (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[22 NM off Southport, Gold Coast, QLD, April 2018]

Dorsal view of a Tahiti Petrel flying an extreme bend (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[22 NM off Southport, Gold Coast, QLD, April 2018]

Tahiti Petrel in low hovering flight, centre, surrounded by other pelagic birds; note the conspicuous white "V" on the rump (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[22 NM off Southport, Gold Coast, QLD, April 2018]

Tahiti Petrel in low flight, centre right, surrounded by other pelagic birds (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[22 NM off Southport, Gold Coast, QLD, April 2018]

Tahiti Petrel in flight, right, surrounded by other pelagic birds; note the cross-like appearance of the Tahiti Petrel (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[22 NM off Southport, Gold Coast, QLD, April 2018]

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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Disclaimer: Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee that the information presented on these pages is always correct or up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no responsibility for the contents of external pages. All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the material presented on this web site, please contact us: We hereby acknowledge the original custodians of the land which is described on these pages, including the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people of the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, and the traditional owners of other lands and nations within this country. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.          Last updated: Sun, 24 February 2019, 20:27 +00:00