Tristram’s Storm Petrel

Tristram's storm petrel or ʻakihikeʻehiʻale (Hydrobates tristrami) is a species of seabird in the storm petrel family Hydrobatidae. The species' common and scientific name is derived from the English clergyman Henry Baker Tristram; the species can also be known as the sooty storm petrel. Tristram's storm petrel has a distribution across the north Pacific Ocean, predominantly in tropical seas. This storm petrel has long, angular wings. This is likely the largest member of the storm petrel family, with a total length 24.5 to 27 cm (9.6 to 10.6 in), a wingspan of 54 to 57 cm (21 to 22 in) and a body mass of 71 to 120 g (2.5 to 4.2 oz) with average weights of 86.2 and 92 g (3.04 and 3.25 oz). Its plumage is all over dark with a slightly pale rump and a pale grey bar on the upper wing. The bill is stout as this is a species which feeds on small cephalopods. The species is colonial, nesting in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands, and in several small islands south of Japan, including the Bonin Islands and Izu. Colonies are attended at night, and the species breeds during the winter. At sea, the species is…