Bermuda Petrel

Pterodroma cahow (Nichols & Mowbray, 1916)

Bermuda Petrel, Pterodroma cahow, breeds on rocky islets in Castle Harbour in Bermuda and ranges outside the breeding season across the Gulf Stream from off Canada to North Carolina, with records also reaching the Azores. It is a petrel in the family Procellariidae and was described by Nichols and Mowbray in 1916. Also called the cahow in Bermuda, it is the national bird there and appears on Bermudian currency. It was once believed extinct for 300 years before its rediscovery in 1951.

Order

Procellariiformes

Family

Procellariidae — Petrels, Shearwaters, Diving Petrels

Breeding range

Atlantic Ocean: rocky islets in Castle Harbour (se Bermuda, wc North Atlantic)

Nonbreeding range

to Gulf Stream off se Canada to North Carolina (rare; nw Atlantic Ocean) and to Azores (ne Atlantic Ocean)