Barau's petrel is a medium-sized gadfly petrel from the family Procellariidae. Its main breeding site is the island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean.
Region
Southwest Indian Ocean
Typical Environment
At sea, Barau's petrel occupies pelagic waters of the tropical to subtropical Indian Ocean, foraging far from land over deep, productive zones and frontal systems. During breeding, it remains around Réunion but ranges widely to feed. It nests in burrows and rock crevices on steep, windswept volcanic slopes at high elevations with sparse vegetation. Outside the breeding season it disperses broadly across the central and eastern Indian Ocean. It rarely approaches the coast except when returning to colonies at night.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 3000 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Barau's petrel breeds almost exclusively in the high mountains of Réunion, nesting in burrows on steep volcanic slopes. Fledglings are frequently grounded by urban lights during their first flights to sea, and local rescue programs save thousands each year. Adults range widely across the tropical Indian Ocean outside the breeding season. It is a long-lived seabird with high adult survival but low reproductive output, making it vulnerable to disturbance.
Release of a rescued fledgling
Temperament
pelagic and wary on land
Flight Pattern
soaring glider with dynamic soaring and swift, stiff-winged arcs
Social Behavior
Breeds colonially in scattered colonies on high mountain slopes. Nocturnal at colonies, arriving and departing under cover of darkness to avoid predators. Monogamous pairs lay a single egg; both parents alternate incubation and chick provisioning. Chicks fledge to the sea after several months.
Migratory Pattern
Seasonal migrant
Song Description
At colonies it gives eerie, wailing and cackling calls during nocturnal activity, with repeated rising and falling notes. At sea it is mostly silent, vocalizing rarely except during social interactions near the colony.
Plumage
Upperparts medium-dark grey with a darker 'M' pattern across the upperwings; underparts largely white with narrow grey flanks. Underwing mostly white with dark margins and a dusky tip; head with a dark cap and contrasting pale forehead and face. Feathers sleek and dense, adapted for marine conditions.
Diet
Feeds mainly on small fish, squid, and crustaceans taken from or just below the surface. Often captures prey by surface-seizing and shallow plunge-dives, and may associate with predatory fish driving prey upward. It forages over productive fronts and eddies where prey concentrates. Occasionally takes bioluminescent or vertically migrating organisms at night.
Preferred Environment
Open ocean far offshore, especially along current edges, upwellings, and shelf breaks. During breeding it forages over the southwest Indian Ocean but returns frequently to feed the chick.
