The gadfly petrels or Pterodroma are a genus of about 35 species of petrels, part of the seabird order Procellariiformes. The gadfly petrels are named for their speedy weaving flight, as if evading gadflies (horseflies). The flight action is also reflected in the name Pterodroma, from Ancient Greek pteron, "wing" and dromos, "runner".
The short, sturdy bills of these medium to large petrels are adapted for soft prey that they pick from the ocean surface. They have twisted intestines for digesting marine animals that have unusual biochemistries.
Their complex wing and face marking are probably for interspecific recognition.
These birds nest in colonies on islands and are pelagic when not breeding. One white egg is laid usually in a burrow or on open ground. They are nocturnal at the breeding colonies.
While generally wide-ranging, most Pterodroma species are confined to a single ocean basin (e.g. Atlantic), and vagrancy is not as common amongst the genus as in some other seabird species (cf. the storm petrels Hydrobatidae). Eleven species in this genus breed in the New Zealand region, and six of these are only found there.
Taxonomy The genus Pterodroma was introduced in 1856 by the French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek pteron meaning "wing" with dromos meaning "racer" or "runner". The type species was subsequently designated as the great-winged petrel by the American ornithologist Elliott Coues in 1866.
The species listed here are those recognised in the online list maintained by Frank Gill, Pamela Rasmussen and David Donsker on behalf of the International Ornithological Committee (IOC), also Tennyson et al. 2015. The genus includes 36 species, of which two have become possibly extinct in historical times.
Image Scientific name Common name Distribution Pterodroma macroptera Great-winged petrel southern Indian and Atlantic oceans Pterodroma lessonii White-headed petrel subantarctic Pterodroma gouldi Grey-faced petrel islets off northern New Zealand Pterodroma incerta Atlantic petrel Gough Island Pterodroma solandri Providence petrel Lord Howe Island and Phillip Island Pterodroma magentae Magenta petrel Chatham Islands Pterodroma ultima Murphy's petrel Polynesia Pterodroma mollis Soft-plumaged petrel southern Atlantic and Indian oceansto Antipodes Islands Pterodroma madeira Zino's petrel Madeira Pterodroma feae Fea's petrel Cape Verde Pterodroma deserta Desertas petrel Madeira Pterodroma cahow Bermuda petrel Castle Harbour, Bermuda Pterodroma hasitata Black-capped petrel montane Hispaniola and Dominica Pterodroma caribbaea Jamaican petrel montane eastern Jamaica Pterodroma externa Juan Fernandez petrel Alejandro Selkirk Island Pterodroma occulta Vanuatu petrel Vanua Lava Pterodroma neglecta Kermadec petrel Pacific Ocean with eccentric breeding in the Indian Ocean on Round Island, Mauritius Pterodroma heraldica Herald petrel southwest Pacific and Round Island Pterodroma arminjoniana Trindade petrel Trindade and Martim Vaz and Round Island Pterodroma atrata Henderson petrel southeast Pacific Pterodroma alba Phoenix petrel southern Pacific Pterodroma baraui Barau's petrel Réunion; winters to western Australia Pterodroma sandwichensis Hawaiian petrel Hawaii Pterodroma phaeopygia Galapagos petrel Galapagos Islands Pterodroma inexpectata Mottled petrel southern New Zealand; winters to Bering Sea Pterodroma cervicalis White-necked petrel Phillip Island (Norfolk Island) and Kermadec Islands;winters southern Pacific Pterodroma nigripennis Black-winged petrel Round Island and southwest Pacific;winters southern Pacific Pterodroma axillaris Chatham Islands petrel Rangatira Island Pterodroma hypoleuca Bonin petrel northwest Pacific Pterodroma leucoptera Gould's petrel southwest Pacific Pterodroma brevipes Collared petrel southwest Pacific Pterodroma cookii Cook's petrel Great & Little Barrier Island, Codfish Island Pterodroma defilippiana Masatierra petrel Desventuradas Islands and Santa Clara Island Pterodroma longirostris Stejneger's petrel Alejandro Selkirk Island; winters north Pacific Pterodroma pycrofti Pycroft's petrel islets off northeastern New Zealand
See also List of gadfly petrels
References