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Wilson's Storm-Petrel
(Oceanites oceanicus)
: "Wilson's Petrel", "Flat-clawed Storm-Petrel"
 German name(s): "Buntfuß-Sturmschwalbe"
Size: 0.85-0.95 m; wing span 2.1-2.5 m
Weight: 2.9-4.7 kg
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Physical description |
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 Click here for a physical description
Wilson's Storm-Petrels are small seabirds.
Their plumage is
all dark-grey, except for the white rump and flanks and a lighter
grey crescent on the greater upperwing coverts. The tail is
squarish. The legs are long and protrude conspicuously beyond
the end of the tail in flight. The slightly hooked bill and the
legs are dark-grey, while the (often dangling) feet have yellowish
webbing.
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Taxonomy, classification |
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See Wilson's
Storm-Petrel at Wikipedia  .
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Range, habitat, finding this species |
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Click here for information on habitat
and range
The overall distribution of this species can be assessed based
on sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to the
ebird.org
website.
The global distribution of Wilson's Storm-Petrel is available
HERE
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Wilson's Storm-Petrels are the smallest animals breeding on the
Antarctic continent and on antarctic
islands
in the southern summer.
From there they migrate northward after the breeding season, into
all southern oceans. In the southern winter they will reach all
tropical waters around the globe and move on to the northern
hemisphere.
In the Atlantic Ocean they are found as far North as Spain and
the American East coast, in the Pacific Ocean well North of Hawaii
and in the Indian Ocean they reach the coastlines of the sub-continent.
In Europe Wilson's Storm-Petrels can occasionally be found
around Iberia, both in the Atlantic and in the western
Mediterranean Sea, and further North up to the Gulf of
Biscaye in south-western France.
When not breeding, Wilson's Storm-Petrels will mostly stay
on the high seas,
but they do also
enter coastal waters.
They breed on offshore islands.
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Sightings |
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Click here for sighting information
We have not seen a Wilson's Storm-Petrel in Europe yet, but have
spotted one in Australia.
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Photos |
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No photos of Wilson's Storm-Petrels available from Europe yet, but we
have photographed them in
Australia.
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.
Breeding
Nest
Eggs
Behaviour
Food
Call/s
