Birds
Black-bellied Storm-petrel
Fregetta tropica · also called black-bellied storm petrel
Pattering its feet across the water in search of tiny prey, a black-bellied storm-petrel ranges further south than most of its relatives, sometimes foraging right at the edge of the Antarctic sea ice far from any land.
Overview
The black-bellied storm-petrel, Fregetta tropica, is a Least Concern seabird native to ocean habitat across the Southern Ocean, from subantarctic islands to the edge of the Antarctic sea ice. Its distinctive dark belly stripe, comparatively large size among storm-petrels, and unusually far-south foraging range make it one of the more geographically wide-ranging small seabirds found across the Southern Ocean.
A small seabird unafraid of the ice edge
While many small seabirds stay within milder subantarctic waters, the black-bellied storm-petrel regularly pushes its foraging range right to the boundary of the Antarctic pack ice, tolerating some of the coldest, most exposed open water any storm-petrel species is known to use.
Status
Least Concern, remaining widespread and generally stable across its subantarctic and Antarctic breeding range.
Black-bellied Storm-petrel: common questions
How can you identify a black-bellied storm-petrel?
This species has a distinctive dark stripe running down the centre of an otherwise white belly, a key feature that separates it from similar white-bellied storm-petrel species encountered at sea.
How does the black-bellied storm-petrel find its food?
This species forages by hovering just above the sea surface and pattering its feet rapidly against the water, a distinctive technique shared across the wider storm-petrel family.
How far out to sea does the black-bellied storm-petrel travel?
This species often forages far from land, including near the edge of the Antarctic sea ice, ranging further south than many other storm-petrel species typically travel.
Is the black-bellied storm-petrel a large or small seabird?
This species is one of the larger storm-petrel species, noticeably bigger than close relatives such as Wilson's storm-petrel, though it is still small compared with most other seabirds.