BLACK-CAPPED PETREL Pterodroma hasitata

Another enigmatic pterodroma which was thought at one time to be conspecific with Bermuda Petrel, but in fact Cahow is more closely related to Fea's-type petrels. Breeding colonies were discovered as late as 1961, on Hispaniola, mainly Haiti, and possibly other areas in the Carribean. Dispersal is again most of the North Atlantic, but there are few records north of Spain, although there is an historical record of a vagrant to the UK. The majority of birds seem to go north to the Gulf Stream, where they are regularly seen on pelagic trips out of Hatteras, North Carolina.


Click on the photo to return to "petrels" or here for HOMEPAGE