Cook’s Petrel
Cook's Petrel
Pterodroma cookii
At a Glance
Breeding on islands around New Zealand, this petrel ranges over vast distances in the Pacific Ocean. Since the late 1970s, research cruises have revealed that Cook's Petrel occurs regularly off our west coast -- but so far offshore that it is seldom seen on ordinary one-day birding boat trips, let alone from shore.
All bird guide text and rangemaps adapted from Lives of North American Birds by Kenn Kaufman© 1996, used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Category
Gull-like Birds
IUCN Status
Vulnerable
Habitat
Open Ocean
Population
670.000
Range & Identification
Description
11" (28 cm). W 27 (69 cm). Only occurs far off Pacific Coast. Bright white below and on underside of wings; pale gray above, including crown and nape, but with darker gray "M" pattern across back and wings.
Size
About the size of a Crow, About the size of a Robin
Tail Shape
Rounded, Short, Wedge-shaped
Songs and Calls
Generally silent at sea. On breeding grounds a series of high pitched notes similar to Mottled Petrel but even higher pitched.
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