Ô¼ÅÚÊÓƵ

A small dark seabird that flies low over the water with erratic, bounding wingbeats. Unlike Wilson's Storm-Petrel, it seldom follows ships. Nests on islands off both coasts of North America, most commonly off eastern Canada. Silent and usually solitary at sea, it becomes very vocal when visiting its nesting islands at night, filling the darkness with spooky chattering, trilling, and sputtering cries.

A small seabird with a limited range, breeding only on offshore islands from central California to northern Baja, and dispersing only short distances at sea. Flies low over the waves with relatively shallow wingbeats. Of the various all-dark storm-petrels on the west coast, this one is medium-sized and slightly paler than the others.

Until the late 1970s, this species was considered an accidental visitor to North America, with a few having been found inland after hurricanes. With increased surveys offshore, it has proven to be a regular visitor far off our southern Atlantic and Gulf Coasts. It may have been overlooked in the past because of its great similarity to Leach's Storm-Petrel.

This is the largest of the dark storm-petrels found off the west coast, and the one most likely to be seen from shore in southern California. It has a buoyant flight with deep wingbeats, low over the waves. The Black Storm-Petrel nests mainly on islands off western Mexico. The first breeding record for the United States was in 1976 on a rock near Santa Barbara Island, and a few may nest elsewhere in the Channel Islands.

A small, silvery seabird of cold waters off the Pacific Coast, most common off southern Alaska. Flutters low over the waves offshore, sometimes in flocks. Its center of distribution is much farther north than those of other storm-petrels in Pacific; it is able to fly well even in serious winter storms, zigzagging through wave troughs.

A tiny seabird, the smallest of the storm-petrels, no larger than a sparrow. It flies low over the waves with fast deep wingbeats, giving it a rather batlike look. Nests only on islands off western Mexico, but moves north irregularly into California waters in late summer, sometimes in large numbers. On the rare occasions when hurricanes off western Mexico turn inland, this species may be carried along; Hurricane Kathleen in 1976 deposited hundreds on the Salton Sea in southern California.

Nesting on islands off the west coast of South America, this bird wanders widely in offshore waters of the eastern Pacific. A few individuals have been known to stray as far north as California. The race of this species breeding in the Galapagos is the only storm-petrel that regularly visits its nesting colonies by day.