Mottled Petrel

About the Mottled Petrel

The mottled petrel (Pterodroma inexpectata) or kōrure is a species of seabird and a member of the gadfly petrels. It usually attains 33 to 35 cm (13–14 in) in length with a 74 to 82 cm (29–32 in) wingspan. This species is highly pelagic, rarely approaching land, except to nest and rear young. The mottled petrel feeds mostly on fish and squid, with some crustaceans taken. It is a transequatorial migrant, breeding in the islands of New Zealand, and migrating to the Bering Sea, concentrating in the Gulf of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands.

It was previously found on mainland New Zealand North and South Islands, but is now only found on smaller off-shore islands near Fiordland, Stewart Island and Snares Islands, with the largest populations on Codfish Island, Big South Cape Island and the Snares Islands.

The mottled petrel uses burrows and rock crevices to nest in. It was formerly more numerous than today. The species' numbers have been and continue to be affected by predation by introduced mammals. Chicks have been reintroduced to Maungaharuru, hills 24 km from the sea, in Hawke's Bay.

The breeding behaviour of the mottled petrel is similar to that of the sooty shearwater... Wikipedia →