Zino's Petrel
Pterodroma madeira
The Zino's Petrel (Pterodroma madeira) is a legendary petrels, shearwaters, and diving petrel found in 4 countries, weighing about 201 g. Zino's petrel or the freira, is a species of small seabird in the gadfly petrel genus, endemic to the island of Madeira.
About the Zino's Petrel
Zino's petrel or the freira, is a species of small seabird in the gadfly petrel genus, endemic to the island of Madeira. This long-winged petrel has a grey back and wings, with a dark "W" marking across the wings, and a grey upper tail. The undersides of the wings are blackish apart from a triangle of white at the front edge near the body, and the belly is white with grey flanks. It is very similar in appearance to the slightly larger Fea's petrel, and separating these two Macaronesian species at sea is very challenging. It was formerly considered to be a subspecies of the soft-plumaged petrel, P. mollis, but they are not closely related, and Zino's was raised to the status of a species…
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
This long-winged petrel is 32–34 cm (13–13 in) long with an 80–86 cm (31–34 in) wingspan, and an average weight of 290 g (10 oz). It has a grey back, grey wings with a dark "W" marking across them, and a grey upper tail. The undersides of the wings are blackish, apart from a triangle of white at the front edge near the body, and the belly is white with grey flanks. The head has a mottled whitish-brown forehead, a dark cap, and a dark spot below and behind the brown eye.
Where it lives
Recorded as a rare visitor in Spain, United States.
When to see it
Best months: May, June, July, August, October, with peak activity in June. It is a summer visitor species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Zino's Petrel?
- This long-winged petrel is 32–34 cm (13–13 in) long with an 80–86 cm (31–34 in) wingspan, and an average weight of 290 g (10 oz). Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Zino's Petrel?
- The Zino's Petrel is a medium sized bird weighing about 201 g.
- Where can you see a Zino's Petrel?
- The Zino's Petrel occurs in 4 countries, including Portugal and Cape Verde.
- What birds look similar to a Zino's Petrel?
- The Zino's Petrel is most easily confused with the Atlantic Petrel, the Herald Petrel and the Stejneger's Petrel.
- Is the Zino's Petrel endangered?
- The Zino's Petrel is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Zino's Petrel for real
BeakBrain drills you on photos and calls until you can greet this bird by name in the field. Free to play, on any device.
Play BeakBrainEvery photo and recording on this page is credited to its author under the licence shown. Spotted a problem with this page, or have a better photo? Contribute.