Providence Petrel

Pterodroma solandri (Gould, 1844)

Providence Petrel, Pterodroma solandri, breeds in the Pacific Ocean on Lord Howe Island and, in small numbers, Phillip Island in the Norfolk group east of Australia. Outside the breeding season it ranges to eastern Australia and across the north-west Pacific as far as the waters off Kamchatka and Japan, reaching the Bering Sea. It is a gadfly petrel in the family Procellariidae. The species was described by Gould in 1844. It is also known as Solander’s Petrel, a name that honours the Swedish botanist Daniel Solander.

Order

Procellariiformes

Family

Procellariidae — Petrels, Shearwaters, Diving Petrels

Breeding range

Pacific Ocean: Lord Howe I. and (few) Phillip I. (Norfolk group; e of Australia)

Nonbreeding range

to e Australia and nw Pacific off Kamchatka and Japan and to Bering Sea