I guess I'd go with Bermuda Petrel on this one. The dusky nape should help separate from Black Capped and the underwing pattern with the broken dark covert bar should eliminate Fea's Petrel? As I've stated I have no experience with these species and i'm going from what I can remember from reviewing field guides. I'm not consulting a field guide on this one just to test my memory,hopefully it hasn't failed me....
This really is a tough one. Dave's best guess sounds good to me but I'm not really sure since I have never seen this species up here. I really have to try to go to NC next summer...
Bermuda Petrel is correct. This is one of the world's most endangered seabirds, and out at the edge of the Gulf Stream off NC is probably the most reliable place in the world to see it. We saw four this past spring, including a remarkable three in one day!
The key field marks are the underwing pattern, which is very similar to Black-capped Petrel, except for a slightly thicker black carpal bar. The black spots at the tip of the primary coverts also seems to be a regular feature of Bermuda. Probably the most distinctive feature is the dark hood, which is very different from Black-capped Petrel.
Structurally, note the much smaller bill. If you could see the upper body in this photo, you'd also notice that it lacks the obvious white collar of Black-capped Petrel and has much less white on the uppertail coverts. The overall upperwing is more grayish and shows a slight "M" pattern. The result is that from above, Bermuda can give an initial impression that is very similar to Fea's Petrel; the field guides all give you the impression that it will look more like Black-cap, so that Fea's-like appearance has given me momentary confusion at least twice.
NC Seabird Quiz #2
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote