Herald Petrel

Pterodroma heraldica (Salvin, 1888)

Herald Petrel, Pterodroma heraldica, is a petrel of the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean, breeding on islands and atolls from Round Island near Mauritius and Raine Island in Australia through Chesterfield Reefs, Tonga and Samoa to the Cook, Austral, Marquesas, Tuamotu and Pitcairn groups, as well as Rapa Nui. It also moves as far as the Peru Current when not breeding. It nests on cliff ledges, ridges and rocky slopes, and has dark, light and mixed colour forms.

Order

Procellariiformes

Family

Procellariidae — Petrels, Shearwaters, Diving Petrels

Breeding range

Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean: Round I. (ne of Mauritius, c Mascarenes, sw Indian Ocean); Raine I. (few; ne Australia), Chesterfield Reefs (New Caledonia), Tonga and Samoa (c Polynesia) to s Cook, Austral, Marquesas, Tuamotu and Pitcairn groups and Rapa Nui (Easter=Eastern Is. group, se Polynesia)

Nonbreeding range

to Peru Current