One of the 6 petrels on WAnimals
Birds · Procellariiformes · Procellariidae
Hawaiian Petrel
Pterodroma sandwichensis
It faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future. See full glossary
The Hawaiian petrel or ua'u breeds in burrows dug on the high slopes of the Hawaiian volcanoes, including the Haleakala caldera at more than two thousand metres of altitude, and feeds on the open sea hundreds of kilometres away. It only enters the colony at night. Introduced rats, cats and mongooses, together with collisions with power lines and artificial lights, have reduced it to a few thousand pairs.
Weight
400 g – 500 g
Size
40 cm – 46 cm
Lifespan
30 years
Diet
Carnivore
Feeds mainly on other animals.
Activity
Nocturnal
Active mainly at night.
Social structure
Colony
Lives in large concentrations, often for breeding reasons.
Sighting difficulty
Hard
Fun facts
- It nests in burrows above two thousand metres on the volcanic summits of Hawaii, and makes round trips of hundreds of kilometres to the sea every night to feed a single chick.
- Isotopic analysis of bones of this species found at Hawaiian sites has made it possible to reconstruct how the food web of the North Pacific has changed over the last 4,000 years.
Life cycle & biology
- Skeleton type
- Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
- Habitat & environment
- The tropical North Pacific; breeds in burrows on the volcanic summits of Hawaii, up to 3,000 metres
- Sexual maturity
- 6 years
- Gestation / incubation
- 55 days of incubation
- Litter / clutch size
- 1 egg
Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pterodroma_sandwichensis
Where to watch it
Parks and dive sites where this species has been documented.
Related species
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Hawaiian Petrel — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Newell's Shearwater
Puffinus newelli
Hawaiian Monk Seal
Neomonachus schauinslandi
Manx Shearwater
Puffinus puffinus
Northern Fulmar
Fulmarus glacialis
Least ConcernSooty Tern
Onychoprion fuscatus
Red-footed Booby
Sula sula
How to help
The hawaiian petrel is classified as endangered. Organizations such as UICN, WWF y Wildlife Conservation Society work specifically on its conservation and that of its habitat; looking into their programs is a good starting point if you want to get involved.
It's documented in 3 real protected areas — part of why protecting these places matters for its conservation.
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Based on what we already know about hawaiian petrel.
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