Storm Petrel - Distribution and Movements

Distribution and Movements

Storm petrels are found in all the world's oceans and in most of its seas. They are absent as breeders from the western Indian Ocean and as regular migrants or residents from the far north of the Arctic Ocean as well as the eastern extents of the Mediterranean, the Black Sea and areas of brackish water. The Oceanitinae are typically found in the southern hemisphere and the Hydrobatinae in the northern hemisphere.

Several species of storm petrel undertake migrations after the breeding season. The most widely travelled migrant is the Wilson's Storm Petrel which after breeding in Antarctica and the subantarctic islands regularly crosses the equator to the waters of the north Pacific and Atlantic. Other species undertake migrations of differing lengths; long ones, such as the Swinhoe's Storm Petrel, which breeds in the west Pacific and migrates to the west Indian Ocean; and other seabirds in the or shorter ones, such as the Black Storm Petrel which nests in southern California and migrates down the coast of Central America as far south as Colombia. Some species, like the Tristram's Storm Petrel or the Grey-backed Storm Petrel are thought to be essentially sedentary and do not undertake any migrations away from their breeding islands.