European Storm-Petrel

Overview

The European Storm-Petrel is a tiny, sparrow-sized seabird that spends almost all its life far out at sea, coming ashore only at night to breed in burrows and crevices on remote islands. Its small size and fluttering, bat-like flight distinguish it from all but a few other tubenoses.

It is the smallest storm-petrel in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean, and its feathers reflect this diminutive scale, being noticeably smaller than those of the larger Leach's Storm-Petrel found in the same general region.

European Storm-Petrel feathers are tiny and lightweight, fitting the bird's very small body size.

• Body feathers: Sooty black to sooty brown overall, with a well-defined white patch of feathers across the rump.
• Underwing: A narrow white bar crosses the underwing coverts, visible on individual covert feathers as a pale band against otherwise dark feathering.
• Flight feathers: Small, blackish, and rounded, without barring or strong pattern.
• Compared to Leach's Storm-Petrel: European Storm-Petrel feathers are smaller overall, and the species lacks the pale, contrasting carpal bar on the upperwing that Leach's shows; the tail is also square-ended rather than forked.

Adults are uniformly sooty black-brown apart from the crisp white rump band and the pale underwing bar. Sexes are alike. Juveniles closely resemble adults with little visible difference in the field. Molt occurs mainly away from the breeding colony, allowing the demanding schedule of nightly nest visits to continue without major gaps in flight feathers.

European Storm-Petrels breed on rocky islands and remote coastal cliffs around the eastern Atlantic, Mediterranean, and nearby archipelagos, nesting in burrows, crevices, and stone walls. Outside the breeding season they range widely over the eastern Atlantic and adjacent seas, remaining almost entirely pelagic and rarely seen from land except during onshore storms.

This tiny petrel feeds by pattering its feet on the sea surface while fluttering low over the water to pick up small prey items and oily residues, and it often follows fishing boats to feed on discarded material. It visits its nesting burrow strictly after dark to avoid predatory gulls and skuas, laying a single egg per season, with both parents sharing incubation over an extended period. Its calls are soft purring and hiccupping notes given underground at the nest site.