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European Storm-Petrel (Hydrobates pelagicus) Alternate name(s): "British Storm-Petrel", "Storm-Petrel" German name(s): "Sturmschwalbe" Size: 14-18 cm; wing span 36-39 cm Body mass: 20-38 g Wing loading [g/cm2]: 0.22

Europe: Family Group 3 Family Group 3 Table Black-browed Albatross Northern Fulmar Great Shearwater Cory's Shearwater Scopoli's Shearwater Sooty Shearwater Manx Shearwater Balearic Shearwater Zino's Petrel Wilson's Storm-Petrel European Storm-Petrel Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names European birds home page

Similar species

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

Physical description Click here for a physical description European Storm-Petrels are small seabirds. Their plumage is all dark-grey, except for the white rump and flanks and white bars on the underwing coverts. The tail is squarish. The feet do not protrude beyond the end of the tail in flight. The irises are dark, while the slightly hooked bill and the legs are dark-grey. Juveniles are darker-grey than adults, bordering on black and they have a broad white underwing bar.

Taxonomy, classification See European Storm-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 European Storm-Petrel is available HERE . European Storm-Petrels are a species found primarily in the western North Atlantic, although outside the breeding season they disperse also into the central and the southern Atlantic, traveling as far as South Africa, even Swaziland. Their breeding range is restricted to the coaslines of Europe and southern Iceland, plus the Canary Islands. In Europe, European Storm-Petrels are present all year round. They spend the breeding season on rocky islands and rocky coastlines ranging, except for one site in Greece and in the Adriatic Sea each, from (mostly islands in) the western Mediterranean to the North Cape. Most of the breeding sites are concentrated in an area spanning from Normandy, via the West coasts of Britain and Ireland to Scotland and the Scottish islands. There are only a few breeding grounds in the Gulf of Biscaye and along the West coast of Norway. Outside the breeding season they live on the open ocean or in coastal waters, out to a line connecting roughly northern Norway, southern Iceland and the Canary Islands. European Storm-Petrels do not enter the North Sea or the English Channel. They also disperse into the eastern Mediterranean, but not as far as the Bosporus or Cyprus. When not breeding, European Storm-Petrels will mostly stay on the high seas, but they do also enter coastal waters. They breed on offshore islands.

Sightings Click here for sighting information J. Pires reports spotting European Storm-Petrels 5 NM off Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, in October of 2018 and of the years since. Another was found at Papoa, near Cape Carvoeiro, Peniche, Portugal, in January 2023. All sighting and photographic information presented on this page has kindly been contributed by J. Pires.

Photos

ADULT

Sex unknown

This comparison of a European Storm-Petrel with a Northern Gannet illustrates the enormous difference in size - the storm-petrel is basically the size of the gannet's head (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[5 NM off Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2018]

Near-lateral view of a European Storm-Petrel in flight, wings flat (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Off Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2022]

Near-lateral view of a European Storm-Petrel in flight, wings down (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Off Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2022]

Lateral view of two European Storm-Petrels in flight, showing different phases of the wingbeat (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Off Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2022]

Lateral view of a European Storm-Petrel moulting its secondaries (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[5 NM off Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2019]

Lateral view onto the upperparts of a European Storm-Petrel moulting its secondaries (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[5 NM off Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2019]

Lateral view of a European Storm-Petrel moulting its secondaries (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[5 NM off Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2019]

Near-dorsal view of a European Storm-Petrel (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[5 NM off Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2019]

Close-up dorsal view of a European Storm-Petrel in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Off Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2022]

Dorsal view of a European Storm-Petrel in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Off Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2022]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Slightly cropped near-frontal view of a European Storm-Petrel apparently walking on water; note the broad white underwing bars, indicating that this is a juvenile (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[5 NM off Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2018]

Near-frontal view of a juvenile European Storm-Petrel in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Off Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2022]

Near-frontal view of a juvenile European Storm-Petrel in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Off Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2022]

Lateral view of a juvenile European Storm-Petrel in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Off Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2020]

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Communal

Mobility: Roaming

Elementary unit: Group/flock

The European Storm-Petrel nests in burrows or inaccessible rock crevices on islands along the northern Atlantic Ocean (from Norway via the British Isles [including the islands off Scotland], via the French and Iberian coastline) and on islands in the western and central Mediterranean. They spend the rest of the year out at sea but are not as strictly pelagic as, e.g., Wilson's Storm-Petrel.

Food, Diet

Lateral view of a European Storm-Petrel carrying away its prey (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Off Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2020]

Near-dorsal view of a European Storm-Petrel carrying away its prey (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Off Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2020]

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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