Vanuatu Petrel or Falla's Petrel, Pterodroma occulta is a species of gadfly petrel. This little-known seabird was first scientifically described in 2001 based on six specimens taken in 1927 off Mere Lava, Vanuatu, and a single found ashore in 1983 in New South Wales, Australia. The first confirmed breeding locality was only discovered in 2009 on the island of Vanua Lava, Vanuatu, but based on reports by locals it likely also breeds on Mere Lava. The IUCN have not recognized the Vanuatu Petrel as a species, but maintain it as a subspecies of the very similar White-necked Petrel, P. cervicalis, with the "combined" species considered Vulnerable.
The alternate name commemorates Robert Alexander Falla, a New Zealand ornithologist.
Read more about Vanuatu Petrel: Description, Behaviour
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