Tahiti Petrel

How to identify

Field marks

1. Wedge-shaped tail, long wings and neck, small head
2. Bill black, stout and bulbous
3. Body dark brown, belly white
4. A single faint white line on underwing

Male, female and young

Juvenile plumage resembles that of adults; females are usually smaller.

Voice

The nominate subspecies gives a long series of whistles ending in a purr, in flight or at breeding grounds.

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: April–May and September · Most records: French Polynesia, Fiji, New Caledonia

Tahiti Petrel has been recorded at 20 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 7 countries and regions.

Records by month Southern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

1. TetiaroaFrench Polynesia63 records
2. Tahiti to Moorea ferryFrench Polynesia58 records
3. Rangiroa – Tiputa PassFrench Polynesia24 records

Countries and regions with the most records

French PolynesiaFijiNew CaledoniaCook IslandsPitcairn IslandsChinaKiribati

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

About

The Tahiti petrel (Pseudobulweria rostrata) is a medium-sized, dark brown and white seabird found across the Pacific Ocean. The species comprises two subspecies: P. r. rostrata which breeds in the west-central Pacific Ocean, and P. r. trouessarti which breeds in the tropical and subtropical Pacific Ocean. The Tahiti petrel belongs to the Procellariidae family and is the most studied member of the Pseudobulweria genus which comprises three critically endangered species.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions