Elliot's storm petrel (''Oceanites gracilis'') is a species of

seabird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same envir ...

in the

storm petrel Storm-petrel may refer to one of two bird families, both in the order Procellariiformes, once treated as the same family. The two families are: *Northern storm petrels (''Hydrobatidae'') are found in the Northern Hemisphere, although some specie ...

family

Hydrobatidae Northern storm petrels are seabirds in the genus ''Hydrobates'' in the family Hydrobatidae, part of the order Procellariiformes. The family was once lumped with the similar austral storm petrels in the combined storm petrels, but have been split ...

. The species is also known as the white-vented storm petrel.IOC World Bird List, version 4.2: Loons, penguins, petrels
Retrieved 9 June 2014 There are two subspecies, ''O. g. gracilis'', which is found in the

Humboldt Current The Humboldt Current, also called the Peru Current, is a cold, low-salinity ocean current that flows north along the western coast of South America.Montecino, Vivian, and Carina B. Lange. "The Humboldt Current System: Ecosystem components and p ...

off

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

and

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

, and ''O. g. galapagoensis'', which is found in the waters around the

Galápagos Islands The Galápagos Islands ( es, Islas Galápagos) are an archipelago of volcanic islands in the Eastern Pacific, located around the Equator west of the mainland of South America. They form the Galápagos Province of the Republic of Ecuador, with ...

. It is a sooty-black storm petrel with a white rump and a white band crossing the lower belly and extending up the midline of the belly. It has long legs which extend beyond the body in flight.

Distribution

In spite of the frequent sightings of this species it is very poorly known. Despite considerable research, only one nest had ever been found prior to 2003, that being on the Isla Chungungo, off the coast of Chile. During a survey in 2002, about eleven nests were found in three crevices on this island, but it was also being used by nesting

Humboldt penguin The Humboldt penguin (''Spheniscus humboldti'') is a medium-sized penguin. It resides in South America, its range mainly contains most of coastal Peru. Its nearest relatives are the African penguin, the Magellanic penguin and the Galápagos p ...

s (''Spheniscus humboldti'') and there seemed to be very few suitable sites for the petrels to nest. Another possible breeding site may be inland in the

Atacama Desert The Atacama Desert ( es, Desierto de Atacama) is a desert plateau in South America covering a 1,600 km (990 mi) strip of land on the Pacific coast, west of the Andes Mountains. The Atacama Desert is the driest nonpolar desert in the ...

; a mummified chick, verified by DNA analysis, has been found in a crevice here, and signs of former activities in various cavities, but no live bird has been seen despite searches at various times of the year. It seems likely that there are some breeding colonies in Peru, because the bird is quite common off the coast out at sea. The population around the

seems to be a resident and likely to be breeding, but again, no nesting site is known. The feeding behaviour of the Galápagos subspecies is unusual amongst storm-petrels as it forages close to shore; all other storm-petrels are exclusively

pelagic The pelagic zone consists of the water column of the open ocean, and can be further divided into regions by depth (as illustrated on the right). The word ''pelagic'' is derived . The pelagic zone can be thought of as an imaginary cylinder or w ...

References

External links

White-vented storm-petrel (''Oceanites gracilis'') photos
- Christopher Taylor Nature Photography {{Taxonbar, from=Q1268523 Elliot's storm petrel Birds of Ecuador Birds of Peru Birds of Chile Western South American coastal birds Galápagos Islands coastal fauna Elliot's storm petrel Taxonomy articles created by Polbot