Swinhoe's Storm Petrel

Hydrobates monorhis (Swinhoe, 1867)

≈20 cmLength40 gWeight

A small storm petrel with dark brown feathers overall and a forked tail, it spends most of its time far out at sea.

Busiest months: September · Most records: Singapore, China, Sri Lanka

Looks like Leach's Storm Petrel

Near Threatened

How to identify

Field marks

Feathers dark brown overall
Forked tail and relatively long wings
Dark brown overall, with no white on rump
Body length 18–21 cm

Similar species

Leach's Storm Petrel

This species lacks white on the rump and has a different call, but some individuals of Leach's Storm Petrel in the northeastern Pacific have entirely black rumps; DNA testing was used to rule out Leach's Storm Petrel for the first English record.

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: September · Most records: Singapore, China, Sri Lanka

Swinhoe's Storm Petrel has been recorded at 36 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 8 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

Singapore StraitsSingapore166 records
Lanyang River Estuary IBATaiwan (China)36 records
Zhujiajian-Shengshan Island ferry routeChina28 records

More places

Eilat north beachIsrael20 records
Negombo - Morawala Beach - seawatchingSri Lanka19 records
Dagong Island PNRChina16 records
Yushan IslandsChina10 records
Yeliu IBATaiwan (China)8 records
Gushan ParkChina6 records
Fair IsleUnited Kingdom5 records

Countries and regions with the most records

Singapore China Sri Lanka Israel Oman United Kingdom South Korea Portugal

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

Questions

How big is the Swinhoe's Storm Petrel?

The Swinhoe's Storm Petrel is about ≈20 cm long and weighs around 40 g.

Where does the Swinhoe's Storm Petrel live?

Its breeding range: Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean: Verkhovsky and Karamzhin islands and satellite islets (southwest of Vladivostok, Russia), off Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu (central Japan), Korean Peninsula, off Shandong and Guangdong (eastern China) and Taiwan (China); possibly also Macaronesia (off northwestern Africa). It is most often recorded in Singapore, China and Sri Lanka.

When is the best time to see the Swinhoe's Storm Petrel?

At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in September (Northern Hemisphere).

Is the Swinhoe's Storm Petrel endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Swinhoe's Storm Petrel as Near Threatened.

What does the Swinhoe's Storm Petrel eat?

Main food: Fish, shrimp & shellfish.

What family is the Swinhoe's Storm Petrel in?

It belongs to the family Northern Storm Petrels (Hydrobatidae), order Procellariiformes.

At a glance

Length: ≈20 cm
Weight: 40 g
Habitat: Ocean
Diet: Fish, shrimp & shellfish
Lifestyle: Feeds in the air
Migration: Migratory
Conservation: Near Threatened

More measurements

Wing: 153 mm
Tail: 72 mm
Bill: 16 mm
Tarsus: 23 mm

Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.

Range

Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean: Verkhovsky and Karamzhin islands and satellite islets (southwest of Vladivostok, Russia), off Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu (central Japan), Korean Peninsula, off Shandong and Guangdong (eastern China) and Taiwan (China); possibly also Macaronesia (off northwestern Africa)

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2