Birds
White-bellied Storm-petrel
Fregetta grallaria
Pattering its feet rapidly across the ocean surface in a motion that looks like walking on water, a white-bellied storm-petrel forages far from the scattered remote islands where it breeds across the South Atlantic and South Pacific.
Overview
The white-bellied storm-petrel, Fregetta grallaria, is a Least Concern seabird native to ocean habitat across remote islands of the South Atlantic and South Pacific. Its distinctive water-pattering foraging behaviour, its sharply contrasting white-and-dark plumage, and its extremely scattered island breeding range make it one of the more visually and behaviourally recognisable storm-petrels found anywhere in the Southern Hemisphere.
The bird that gave storm-petrels their name
Watching a white-bellied storm-petrel patter its feet across the water’s surface while foraging helps explain how the wider storm-petrel family earned its name, a behaviour once likened to the biblical image of walking on water.
Status
Least Concern, remaining widespread across scattered breeding islands, though predation from introduced cats and rats has driven declines at some sites.
White-bellied Storm-petrel: common questions
Why does the white-bellied storm-petrel patter its feet on the water?
This species patters its feet rapidly across the ocean surface while foraging, a behaviour resembling walking on water that is shared across the wider storm-petrel family and may help stir up small prey.
How can you identify a white-bellied storm-petrel?
This species has a sharply contrasting white belly against dark upperparts, a pattern reflected clearly in its common name and useful for separating it from similar storm-petrel species.
Where does the white-bellied storm-petrel breed?
This species breeds on a scattered handful of remote islands across the South Atlantic and South Pacific, nesting in burrows or natural rock crevices far from any mainland.
What threatens the white-bellied storm-petrel?
This species faces predation pressure from introduced cats and rats on some of its breeding islands, a significant threat given how few islands the species relies on for breeding.