Mottled Petrel

Overview

The mottled petrel (Pterodroma inexpectata), also known as the kōrure, is a species of seabird and a member of the gadfly petrels. This highly pelagic species is currently classified as Near Threatened by the IUCN Red List.

Identification

• Length of 33 to 35 cm with a wingspan of 74 to 82 cm.
• Highly pelagic lifestyle, meaning it rarely approaches land except to nest and rear young.
• Migrates in a solitary nature, moving alone or in pairs.

Habitat

The species breeds on small offshore islands near Fiordland, Stewart Island, and the Snares Islands in New Zealand, having disappeared from the mainland. As a transequatorial migrant, it travels to the Bering Sea, concentrating in the Gulf of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands during the non-breeding season.

Diet

The mottled petrel feeds mostly on fish and squid, with some crustaceans such as krill. It forages by surface seizing tactics, typically feeding at night and in solitary fashion.

Did you know?

This is the only gadfly petrel seen far south in Antarctic waters, where it maintains a high-latitude foraging niche along the edge of the Antarctic pack ice during the breeding season.