WILSON'S STORM-PETREL Oceanites oceanicus

Once thought to be one of the most abundant birds in the world, Wilson's Petrel breeds in the Antarctic and Subantarctic. It is migratory, especially into the Atlantic and Indian oceans, birds now regularly known to be off Scilly are at the limit of their range, but it can be abundant off the east coast of the USA. Birds are not thought to travel so far North in the Pacific, and it is rare or non-existant near the coast of North and South America. The famous "yellow webs" are shared by other species, but are diagnostic in UK waters. As I haven't been on a UK pelagic since film cameras were in use, these were taken off Madeira, however I was on the 'Chalice' when we recorded thirteen in British waters, coining the term "Wilson's Triangle".


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