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PESKY PETRELS
By Mike Tove
For those who know me (and even a few that don't) are aware that I have used Fea's Petrel as a sort of mascot for my pelagic trips. It was a species that I "discovered" for North America (not the first to see one, but the first to see them repeatedly and get the identification nailed down). In the summer of 1997, I published a two-part article in Birding Magazine describing the soft-plumaged petrel complex and documenting Fea's from North America.
At the time, I believed that by individually documenting some 17 individuals, including many with photos, the species could successfully be added to the North American (ABA) list without having to collect a specimen. Evidently, I was wrong because the ABA Checklist Committee decided that the wealth of evidence was not enough and choosing to list the "species" as Fea's/Zino's. Their justification was that since nobody knew how to tell the two species apart, I couldn't be 100% sure. Never mind the fact that Zino's Petrel is so critically endangered that the odds of seeing one, much less many over here (3000 miles from the breeding grounds) are slim to none; never mind the fact that the birds we see occur when the Zino's population is on its breeding grounds.
In July of 2000, I traveled to Madeira (and the neighboring Desertas), the homes (respectively) of both Zino's and Fea's Petrels. The purpose of my trip was to photograph both at sea and learn as much as possible about the field identification of these species. Although the results of my trip were disappointing in that I only saw 3 Fea's and no Zino's, there was success in that I was able to learn enough to be able to say that the birds are identifiable in the field and at least in photos, are EASY to tell apart. The full data and proof will come later in a more formal paper, but I wanted to get out a "news flash" to those who might be interested.
Several authors, including myself, have suggested that there is a possibility that wing shapes might differ. The evidence is that they differ (length:width ratio) by about 30%. Fea's is a long, narrow-winged species, being actually proportionally similar to Bulwer's Petrel in that regard. Zino's is a much shorter, broader-winged bird; proportionately similar to a Franklin's Gull. Photos of the latter that I saw both before traveling to and while in Madeira are the basis of this statement. The bulk of the data (the photos) were always available, but missing was a confirmed species label to which to attach the photos. I gained that piece of the puzzle from Frank Zino who was able to pinpoint a series of frequently published photos as being newly-fledged Zino's Petrels. Perhaps most remarkable of all is the fact that nobody on the Madeiran petrel research team (Frank Zino and company) doubts that the North American birds are Fea's. For anyone who has seen Fea's Petrel off North Carolina and is dismayed about not being able to count it, take heart. The identification is not wrong and it appears that the only people in the world who are uncertain of this are the ABA Committee members, among whose collective experience with the species is 0 birds.
Read about Michael's article on finding pterodromas off North Carolina click here
Info on Mike's pelagic trips click here
