Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrel

Overview
Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrel: Small storm-petrel, black-brown overall with large white patch on rump and central tail. Bill, legs, and feet are black. Feeds far out to sea. Flight is swift and direct, with deep wing beats and much banking and twisting. Often flies high above the surface of the water.

Range and Habitat
Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrel: Breeds on Galapagos Islands and islands off the coast of Peru. In fall and winter is casual off the Pacific Coast north to the central California coast.

INTERESTING FACTS
The Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrel was first described in 1852 by Charles Bonaparte, French naturalist and ornithologist, and nephew of Napoleon. It is also known as the Galapagos Storm-Petrel and the Peruvian Storm-Petrel. Little is known of their behaviour and distribution at sea, where they can be hard to find and harder to identify. Two subspecies are recognized, O. t. tethys, which breeds in the Galapagos Islands, and the much lesser known O. t. kelsalli, which breeds on islands off the coast of Peru.