Bonin Petrel
Pterodroma hypoleuca
The Bonin Petrel (Pterodroma hypoleuca) is a rare petrels, shearwaters, and diving petrel found in 5 countries, weighing about 176 g. The Bonin petrel or nunulu is a seabird in the family Procellariidae.
About the Bonin Petrel
The Bonin petrel or nunulu is a seabird in the family Procellariidae. It is a small gadfly petrel that is found in the northwest Pacific Ocean. Its secretive habits, remote breeding colonies and limited range have resulted in few studies and many aspects of the species' biology are poorly known.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
The Bonin petrel is a small gadfly petrel, 30 cm (12 in) long with a wingspan of around 67 cm (26 in). It has a white head with a black cap and face markings; overall the head often has a scaled appearance. Its pale grey upperparts have darker primaries and wing coverts creating an "M" mark across the back. The underwing is white with dark edging and a patch at the carpal joint and across underwing coverts. The tail is dark grey, and the rest of the plumage is white, except for a dark half collar on the breast. Like the rest of the Pterodroma petrels the black bill is short and hooked.
Where it lives
Recorded as a rare visitor in United States, Taiwan, Russia.
When to see it
The Bonin Petrel can be seen all year round, with peak activity in April. It is a resident species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Bonin Petrel?
- The Bonin petrel is a small gadfly petrel, 30 cm (12 in) long with a wingspan of around 67 cm (26 in). Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Bonin Petrel?
- The Bonin Petrel is a medium sized bird weighing about 176 g.
- Where can you see a Bonin Petrel?
- The Bonin Petrel occurs in 5 countries, including Japan and the Northern Mariana Islands.
- What birds look similar to a Bonin Petrel?
- The Bonin Petrel is most easily confused with the Pycroft's Petrel, the Stejneger's Petrel and the Trindade Petrel.
- Is the Bonin Petrel endangered?
- The Bonin Petrel is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Bonin Petrel for real
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