Townsend's Storm Petrel - BirdForum Opus

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Photo © by Glen Tepke
Pacific, west of San Diego, California, USA, 17 August, 2019

Oceanodroma socorroensis

Identification

8-21 cm. Dark plumage and white rump with a black line through it. Forked tail

Photo © by Glen Tepke
Pacific, west of San Diego, California, USA, 17 August, 2019

Summer breeder on islets off Guadalupe Island (western Mexico); ranges in eastern Pacific north to southern California and south to ca 10º N

Outside breeding season pelagic.

This is a monotypic species.
Has been considered conspecific with Leach's Storm Petrel and Ainley's Storm Petrel in the past.

Close to the sea in well concealed areas such as rock crevices, shallow burrows.

Can turn up on lakes and reservoirs, many miles inland, as a result of storms

1 white egg is laid. Visits the nest only at night

Small fish and crustaceans

Clements, J. F., P. C. Rasmussen, T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, A. Spencer, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2023. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2023. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
Gill, F and D Donsker (Eds). 2016. IOC World Bird Names (version 6.3). Available at http://www.worldbirdnames.org/.

BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Townsend's Storm Petrel. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 23 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Townsend%27s_Storm_Petrel

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