Leach's storm petrel or Leach's petrel is a small seabird of the tubenose order. It is named after the British zoologist William Elford Leach. The scientific name is derived from Ancient Greek. Hydrobates is from hydōr "water", and batēs "walker", and leucorhous is from leukos, "white" and orrhos, "rump". It was formerly defined in the genus Oceanodroma before that genus was synonymized with Hydrobates.
Region
North Atlantic and North Pacific Oceans
Typical Environment
Breeds on remote islands and sea stacks across the cool-temperate North Atlantic and North Pacific, including large colonies in Atlantic Canada, Scotland, Iceland, Alaska, and the Kurils. Outside the breeding season it ranges widely over the open ocean, moving to warmer subtropical and tropical waters. It is strictly pelagic when not breeding and rarely approaches land. Nesting occurs in burrows, rock crevices, or turf banks on predator-free islands with soft soils or boulder fields.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 600 m
Climate Zone
Temperate
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Leach's storm petrel is a small, nocturnal, colony-nesting seabird of the tubenose order, using keen sense of smell to locate prey and its burrow. It patters over the sea surface, picking tiny crustaceans and fish larvae while fluttering and gliding. Adults are long-lived for their size, with individuals known to exceed 30 years. They are vulnerable to invasive predators at breeding colonies and light attraction during fledging.
Egg of Leach's storm petrel(coll.MHNT)
Temperament
solitary at sea, colonial and secretive at breeding sites
Flight Pattern
buoyant with quick fluttering wingbeats interspersed with glides; often patters on the water surface
Social Behavior
Breeds in dense colonies, nesting in burrows or rock crevices. Lays a single egg and exhibits strong mate and site fidelity, with both parents sharing incubation and chick rearing. Visits to colonies are almost entirely nocturnal to avoid predation by gulls and skuas.
Migratory Pattern
Seasonal migrant
Song Description
Largely silent at sea; at colonies gives a distinctive churring, purring series and clicking notes, mostly at night. Calls are muffled from within burrows, with sex-specific variations.
Plumage
Sooty-brown to blackish overall with a contrasting white rump and long, narrow wings. Upperwing shows subtle pale diagonal bars from the coverts. Tail is distinctly forked.
Diet
Feeds mainly on zooplankton such as copepods and amphipods, along with small fish and squid larvae. It also takes marine oil droplets and occasionally scavenges fishery discards. Attracted to natural ocean scents like dimethyl sulfide that signal productive waters.
Preferred Environment
Forages over open ocean, especially along fronts, upwellings, and shelf edges where prey concentrates. Often feeds in windy conditions, using dynamic soaring and surface pattering to pick prey from the water.
