Pycroft's Petrel

Pycroft’s petrel is a small endemic gadfly petrel that breeds on predator-free islands off northern New Zealand. It has a white forehead and underside, grey cap and back, a black M across the upperwings and a dark diagonal underwing bar. Cook’s petrel is slightly larger and often whiter beneath the wing.

Colonies occur on islands including the Mercury, Hen and Chickens and Stephenson groups, and birds disperse into the central and eastern Pacific. It feeds on small squid, fish and crustaceans and returns to burrows after dark to incubate one egg.

Pycroft’s petrel is At Risk — Recovering (NZ Threat Classification). Predator eradications have allowed recolonisation, but reinvasion remains a major risk. Pelagic trips in the Hauraki Gulf and off Northland can encounter birds; breeding islands have controlled access.