The Fiji petrel (''Pseudobulweria macgillivrayi''), also known as MacGillivray's petrel, is a small, dark

gadfly petrel 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 (horse-fly, horseflies). The flight ...

. The Fiji petrel was originally known from one immature specimen found in 1855 on

Gau Island Gau (, also known as Ngau in English) is an island belonging to Fiji's Lomaiviti archipelago. Located at 18.00° S and 179.30 °E, it covers an area of , with a total shoreline that measures long, making it the fifth largest island in the Fijian ...

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

by naturalist

John MacGillivray John MacGillivray (18 December 1821 – 6 June 1867) was a Scottish naturalist, active in Australia between 1842 and 1867. MacGillivray was born in Aberdeen, the son of ornithologist William MacGillivray. He took part in three of the Royal Nav ...

on board HMS ''Herald'' who took the carcass to the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. It was rediscovered in 1983, since when there have been a further 21 records, which included the capture and photographing of one adult in April 1984. This species is classified as

critically endangered An IUCN Red List critically endangered (CR or sometimes CE) species is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. As of December 2023, of t ...

as it is inferred from the number of records that there is only a tiny population of less than 50 confined to a very small breeding area. This bird is described as being long dark with chocolate-coloured feathers, a dark eye and bill and pale blue foot patches. It may be seen in waters around Gau Island but is believed to disperse to pelagic waters far from the island. The rarity and significance of this species is known to local residents of Gau and it is featured on a Fijian bank note, as well as featuring in the logo for now-defunct Air Fiji. It is protected under Fijian law. In 1989, research on the ridge around possible nesting areas was terminated since it was felt that such activities, without complementary conservation action, could encourage cats to follow paths into the area. In August 2007, a recent skin of an injured Fiji petrel, that subsequently died was made available for study in Fiji. In May 2009, the first photographs of the bird at sea were taken approximately south of Gau Island. A scan is also available from th
Biodiversity Heritage Library

References

* Fiji Millennium Stamps produced by Fiji Pos

. Retrieved 23 December 2007 * Nature Fiji News on the Fiji Petral ski

Retrieved 23 December 2007 {{Taxonbar, from=Q907893 Pseudobulweria Endemic birds of Fiji Birds described in 1860 Taxa named by George Robert Gray