Hawaiian Petrel

One of the endangered birds on the Hawaiian Islands is the Hawaiian petrel. This fast-flying seabird was once so numerous that native Hawaiians living in the 19th century said they darkened the skies as they flew overhead. But ecological changes such as habitat destruction and predation by humans and invasive species dramatically reduced their numbers until today they gather on the few small patches of land in high altitude locations. Their story is part of the greater biological destruction taking place on the Hawaiian Islands.

• The petrel's at sea range amazingly extends thousands of miles, from the northwest coast of the U.S. to the Aleutian Islands in Alaska, and to the tropical southeast Pacific Ocean. For the first several years of its life, the petrel is hardly ever on land, preferring flight over the ocean.


• Though it spends most of its time at sea, the petrel mates and nests on several of the Hawaiian Islands. It builds nests in cavities in the volcanic terrain or in burrows beneath ferns where they lay a single egg per year.


• On the islands, the petrel goes out to sea during the day and returns to it's burrow at night. If a researcher is in the right place at night, they can hear the beautiful call which sounds like - ooooo ahhhhh ooooo - as the flock of petrels return home. While at sea, the petrel gathers food for itself and it's baby.


• A petrel's diet consists of squid, fish, crustaceans and plankton.