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Gadfly petrels
Black-capped petrel (Pterodroma hasitata)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Procellariiformes
Family:	Procellariidae
Genus:	Pterodroma Bonaparte, 1856
Species
About 35, see text
Diversity
1 genus and 33 species

The gadfly petrels or Pterodroma are a genus of about 35 species of petrels, part of the seabird order Procellariiformes. The gadfly petrels are named for their speedy weaving flight, as if evading gadflies (horseflies). The flight action is also reflected in the name Pterodroma, from Ancient Greek pteron, "wing" and dromos, "runner".

The short, sturdy bills of these medium to large petrels are adapted for soft prey that they pick from the ocean surface. They have twisted intestines for digesting marine animals that have unusual biochemistries.

Their complex wing and face marking are probably for interspecific recognition.

These birds nest in colonies on islands and are pelagic when not breeding. One white egg is laid usually in a burrow or on open ground. They are nocturnal at the breeding colonies.

While generally wide-ranging, most Pterodroma species are confined to a single ocean basin (e.g. Atlantic), and vagrancy is not as common amongst the genus as in some other seabird species (c.f. the storm petrels Hydrobatidae).

Species

The taxonomy of the gadfly petrels is being refined at the moment. Several genera have been split off over time, as they are closer to the procellarine and Puffinus shearwaters. Some subspecies have been raised to full species rank. The arrangement given here is traditional, but annotates the changes proposed by Austin (1998) and Bretagnolle et al. (1998). For the current taxonomy, see also Brooke (2004).

The genus contains 35 species, of which one has become extinct in historical times.

• Pterodroma macroptera, Great-winged petrel (Indian and Atlantic basins)
• Pterodroma lessonii, White-headed petrel (Southern Ocean)
• Pterodroma gouldi, Grey-faced petrel (Pacific Ocean basin)
• Pterodroma incerta, Atlantic petrel (Atlantic Ocean basin)
• Pterodroma solandri, Providence petrel (Pacific Ocean basin)
• Pterodroma magentae, Magenta petrel (Pacific Ocean basin, but poorly known)
• Pterodroma ultima, Murphy's petrel (Pacific Ocean basin)
• Pterodroma mollis, Soft-plumaged petrel (Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean and margins of Western Pacific Ocean)
• Pterodroma madeira, Zino's petrel or Madeira petrel (Atlantic Ocean basin )
• Pterodroma feae, Fea's petrel (Atlantic Ocean basin)
• Pterodroma desertae, Desertas petrel (disputed) (Atlantic Ocean basin)
• Pterodroma cahow, Bermuda petrel (Atlantic Ocean basin)
• Pterodroma hasitata, Black-capped petrel (Atlantic Ocean basin)
• † Pterodroma caribbaea, Jamaican petrel, (extinct) (Atlantic Ocean basin)
• Pterodroma externa, Juan Fernández petrel (Pacific Ocean basin)
• Pterodroma occulta, Vanuatu petrel or Falla's petrel (Pacific Ocean basin)
• Pterodroma neglecta, Kermadec petrel (Pacific Ocean basin, with eccentric breeding locality in the Indian Ocean at Round Island, Mauritius)
• Pterodroma heraldica, herald petrel (Pacific Ocean basin) – split from P. arminjoniana
• Pterodroma arminjoniana, Trindade petrel (Atlantic Ocean basin, with eccentric breeding locality in the Indian Ocean at Round Island, Mauritius)
• Pterodroma atrata, Henderson petrel (Pacific Ocean basin) – split from P. arminjoniana
• Pterodroma alba, Phoenix petrel (Pacific Ocean basin)
• Pterodroma baraui, Barau's petrel (Indian Ocean basin)
• Pterodroma sandwichensis, Hawaiian petrel (Pacific Ocean basin)
• Pterodroma phaeopygia, Galápagos petrel (Pacific Ocean basin)
• Pterodroma inexpectata, Mottled petrel (Pacific Ocean basin)
• Pterodroma cervicalis, White-necked petrel (Pacific Ocean basin)
• Pterodroma nigripennis, Black-winged petrel (Pacific Ocean basin with eccentric breeding locality in the Indian Ocean at Round Island, Mauritius)
• Pterodroma axillaris, Chatham petrel (Pacific Ocean basin)
• Pterodroma hypoleuca, Bonin petrel (Pacific Ocean basin)
• Pterodroma leucoptera, Gould's petrel (Pacific Ocean basin)
• Pterodroma brevipes, Collared petrel (Pacific Ocean basin)
• Pterodroma cookii, Cook's petrel (Pacific Ocean basin)
• Pterodroma defilippiana, De Filippi's petrel or Masatierra petrel (Pacific Ocean basin)
• Pterodroma longirostris, Stejneger's petrel (Pacific Ocean basin)
• Pterodroma pycrofti, Pycroft's petrel (Pacific Ocean basin)

See also

• List of gadfly petrels

References

1. Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 322. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
2. Austin, Jeremy J. (1996). "Molecular Phylogenetics of Puffinus Shearwaters: Preliminary Evidence from Mitochondrial Cytochrome b Gene Sequences". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 6 (1): 77–88. doi:10.1006/mpev.1996.0060. PMID 8812308.
3. Bretagnolle, Vincent; Pasquet, Eric; Bretagnolle, V.; Attié, C.; Pasquet, E. (1998). "Cytochrome-B evidence for validity and phylogenetic relationships of Pseudobulweria and Bulweria (Procellariidae)" (PDF). Auk. 115 (1): 188–195. doi:10.2307/4089123. JSTOR 4089123.
4. Brooke, M. (2004): Albatrosses and Petrels Across the World. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. ISBN 0-19-850125-0
5. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (July 2021). "Petrels, albatrosses". IOC World Bird List Version 11.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
6. ^ Jaramillo, Alvaro (July 2013). "Proposal 582: Split Pterodroma heraldica and P. atrata from P. arminjoniana". South American Classification Committee, American Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 23 December 2021.

• Gadfly petrels
• Pterodroma
• Taxa named by Charles Lucien Bonaparte