Gould's Petrel

Gould’s petrel is an Australian-breeding gadfly petrel that reaches New Zealand waters as a migrant. It shows a dark cap, white forehead and underparts, grey back with a black M, and a strong black diagonal underwing bar. At sea it closely resembles Cook’s and Pycroft’s petrels.

It breeds mainly on islands off New South Wales and New Caledonia and occasionally crosses the Tasman into northern New Zealand waters. The bird takes squid, fish and crustaceans during fast arcing flight and nests in forested island cavities.

Gould’s petrel is a Migrant under the NZ Threat Classification. Predators and habitat damage affect breeding colonies outside New Zealand. It is a rare pelagic record in northern New Zealand and usually requires expert identification from a boat.