Polynesian Storm Petrel - Nesofregetta fuliginosa

Polynesian Storm Petrel - Nesofregetta fuliginosa

First confirmed sighting in Fiji waters since an adult was in Kadavu in 1876. Photographed by J.Kretzschmar off Gau. Listed as Vulnerable by IUCN.

This is the largest storm petrel, measuring up to 25cm from the tip of the beak to the tip of the tail. They have sooty black upperparts that contrast with their narrow white rump. The upperwing is sooty brown with a pale bar across middle on inner wing. The underparts are highly variable, light phase birds have pale underparts with a brown breast band, dark birds are totally sooty-black. The tail is dark and moderately forked, but this is often difficult to see as the feet trail beyond the tail.

Where it occurs, the Polynesian Storm Petrel is categorised as Vulnerable, however, it is considered to have become lost from the Fiji islands as a breeding bird.

NatureFiji-MareqetiViti Endangered Species