Wilson's storm-petrel

How it lives

Wilson's storm-petrels breed in colonies on the Antarctic coast and nearby islands. Audubon gives the breeding season as November to May. They nest in crevices, rock piles or burrows and lay a single white egg. They visit the colony only at night. Both parents feed the chick, which stays in the nest for about 60 days. Birds find their mates and burrows in the dark partly by smell. Lifespan was not given in the sources I opened.

Where it goes

This is a long-distance migrant. It breeds in the southern summer and moves north in the southern winter. It is found in all oceans except the north Pacific. From March to May many birds move north across the equator, and in summer they are common off eastern North America and in European waters.

We only draw a journey on the map when scientists have tracked it or clearly documented it. For this animal we have not found one yet.

Populations

Estimates are in the millions. Wikipedia gives 8 to 20 million birds (2022), and Audubon says more than 14 million. Birds of the World calls it one of the most abundant seabirds in the world. In East Antarctica, at Pointe Geologie, an unusually icy 2013 to 2014 summer caused total breeding failure, with no chick fledged, the lowest in 50 years of monitoring. Sources differ on whether there are two or three subspecies. IUCN assessed the species as Least Concern in 2018.