Fieldmarks:
A small,
mostly black seabird with white feathers above and below the tail
forming an incomplete white band. The coverts on the dorsal center of
the tail are darker, which causes the band to be interrupted. The tail
is forked with a deep v. Wing coverts are tipped in white that fades as
the plumage ages. About the size
of a large swallow. Feet do not project beyond the tail. Flies with
fewer beats than the other 2 likely storm-petrels, Wilson's and
Madeiran, and it has a noticeable forward projection of the wing at the
wrist (similar to that of an Osprey) and sharply pointed wing-tips.
Flight is erratic and bounding compared to other likely storm-petrels. Occurrence:
Fall, Winter, and Spring migrant. Uncommon in the Caribbean region;
More frequent in northern and eastern parts of the region. Primary
Atlantic wintering grounds are thought to be Brazil and Gulf of Guinea. Natural History:A
common seabird with millions of pairs
breeding on
islands
around the high latitudes of the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean. This petrel eats small
bits of
fish oil or macroscopic pelagic animals that it gathers from the
surface. Like
most tubenoses, it uses its keen sense of smell to locate food. It is
attracted
to plumes of fish oil above schools of tuna or even fish oils and offal
in the
wake of fishing or birdwatching vessels.
West
Indian Breeding Seabird Atlas by Will
Mackin and David Lee is licensed
under a Creative
Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States
License. Based on
work at www.wicbirds.net.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at www.wicbirds.net.
Suggested
Citation: Lee, D. S., W. A. Mackin. 2011. Leach's Storm-Petrel. West Indian
Breeding Seabird Atlas
<http://www.wicbirds.net/lesp.html>. Last Updated: _____.
Date accessed: ______.
