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Medium-sized, lightly built petrel of offshore tropical waters across the Pacific; not seen from mainland.
Critically Endangered
Indigenous: Trinidad Petrel
At a glance
FamilyShearwaters and Petrels
SizeMedium
RarityRare
HabitatCoastlines, harbours, offshore waters, estuaries, headlands, beaches, and large inland water when conditions suit.
Best timeMost reliable in Queensland from July.
Sounds
Sound sampleRecorded by Matthias Feuersenger
Range map
Range map
34visible hotspots
63visible records
1states
SparseModerateDense hotspot
Aggregated occurance data is sourced from 14 different actively-updating datasets including eBird Australia, iNaturalist Australia, BirdLife Australia, and multiple state-based bird surveys through Atlas of Living Australia.
Species notes
Overview
Plumage is highly variable (from white-bodied and dark-headed to wholly dark) and often very similar to larger and broader-winged Kermadec Petrel, which has a shorter and broader tail than Herald. Herald has white flashes on underside of wingtips, but lacks white shafts on upperside, which are diagnostic of Kermadec. Both species visit colonies in daytime, when pairs chase around high overhead.
Behavior
The Herald petrel nests on oceanic islands and atolls , on cliff ledges, ridges or rocky slopes. On some islands, nesting birds are threatened by feral cats and rats . In 2009 it was identified as this species, from what was previously an unidentified Pterodroma species, to be breeding on Round Island , 22 km (14 mi) north of Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean .
Gallery