Justification This species is classified as Endangered because it has a very small, fragmented and declining breeding range and population. It has already been extirpated from some sites, and decines are likely to continue as a result of habitat loss and degradation, hunting and invasive predators.

Family/Sub-family Procellariidae

Species name author (Kuhl, 1820)

Taxonomic source(s) AERC TAC (2003), Brooke (2004)

Taxonomic note Pterodroma hasitata (Sibley and Monroe 1990, 1993) has been split into P. hasitata and P. caribbaea following Brooke (2004).

Identification 40 cm. Medium-sized, long-winged gadfly petrel. Brownish-black cap extending to eye, nape and towards upper breast where forms partial collar. White hindneck. Brownish-grey mantle and upperwing. White rump and uppertail-coverts. Dark brown tail. Entirely white underparts. White underwing with narrow black trailing edge, black tip, broad black edge between primaries and carpal joint. Band extends weakly towards centre of wing from joint. Black bill. Pink legs, and feet pink proximally, black distally. Similar spp. Bermuda Petrel P. cahow is smaller and usually lacks white hindneck and rump, but separation may sometimes be impossible. Great Shearwater Puffinus gravis is larger, darker and less contrasting above, lacks black edge to underwing and has slower wingbeats and less erratic flight.

Population estimate

Population trend

Range estimate (breeding/resident)

Country endemic?

5,000

decreasing

7,420,000 km²

No

Range & population Pterodroma hasitata now breeds in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. There are an estimated 1,000 breeding pairs^3,4, mostly in the Massifs de la Selle and de la Hotte, southern Haiti⁶, but records at-sea suggest that the population is over 5,000 individuals⁹. The area of suitable habitat in the Pic Macaya region of Massif de la Hotte is estimated to be 5 km², with a similar area in La Visite, Massif de la Selle (the majority of colonies are found within a 10 km stretch spanning a 500 m elevational range on the north side of the ridge; two more colonies are located further to the east, span 5 km, again within a 500 m elevation range)¹⁰. Small numbers have been recently recorded on Dominica and in adjacent offshore waters, suggesting that it may still nest⁶. It now seems likely that small numbers breed in Cuba based on observation in the Sierra Maestra region (a congregation of 40+ individuals in the vicinity of shoreline, vocalisations heard overhead by landbased observers, and evidence of birds moving inland)¹¹. It is believed extinct on Guadeloupe (to France) (where common in the 19th century)⁶. Black-capped petrel may have bred on Martinique (to France)⁶. Even during the breeding season it is highly pelagic, with breeding condition birds recorded off the North Carolina coast, USA^3,4. Birds disperse over the Caribbean and Atlantic from the north-east USA to north-east Brazil, with four records in European waters⁸, but the at-sea range has contracted in the north and west.

Important Bird Areas Click here to view map showing IBAs where species is recorded and triggers any of the IBA criteria.

Ecology: It nests (starting in December) colonially in cliff burrows, often within montane forest at 1,500-2,000 m, but up to 2,300 m in the Dominican Republic⁷. Nesting birds commute large distances from breeding to foraging sites³. It is primarily nocturnal and crepuscular, feeding on fish, invertebrate swarms, fauna associated with Sargassum seaweed reefs³, and squid⁵. It is attracted to localised upwellings, where the mixing of surface and deep oceanic waters produces nutrient-rich areas³.

Threats Habitat destruction and hunting for food have caused this species's decline, and remain key threats in Haiti. Birds are also predated by introduced mammals. Urbanisation and concomitant increases in artificial lights may dazzle or disorientate birds into colliding with trees, wires and buildings⁵. A telecommunications mast with stay wires erected in 1995 on Loma de Toro in Sierra de Bahoruco (the only known nesting locality in the Dominican Republic) poses a collision hazard¹². The proposed development of gas/oil fields off the coast of South Carolina, USA, could devastate this important feeding area³.

Conservation measures underway It breeds within national parks in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. On Guadeloupe, five surveys for the species have been conducted since the late 1980s¹. Efforts have been made to define the at-sea distribution off the USA³.

Conservation measures proposed Survey to accurately determine the status and distribution of the species and its habitat^3,5. Halt human exploitation. Develop measures to remove introduced predators. Effectively protect the species and its nesting grounds. List the species in the USA under the Federal Endangered Species Act³.

References Collar et al. (1992). 1. P. Feldmann and P. Villard in litt (1998). 2. Imber (1991). 3. Lee (2000). 4. D. S. Lee in litt. (1998). 5. Ottenwalder (1992a). 6. Raffaele et al. (1998). 7. Williams et al. (1996). 8. Howell (2002). 9. Brooke (2004). 10. J. Gerwin in litt. 2006. 11. D. Demarest in litt. 2006. 12. Keith et al. (2003).

Further web sources of information

Alliance for Zero Extinction (AZE) species/site profile. This species has been identified as an AZE trigger due to its IUCN Red List status and limited range.

Fully detailed species account from the Threatened birds of the Americas: the BirdLife International Red Data Book (BirdLife International 1992). Please note, taxonomic treatment and IUCN Red List category may have changed since publication.

Recuento detallado de la especie tomado del libro Aves Amenazadas de las Americas, Libro Rojo de BirdLife International (BirdLife International 1992). Nota: la taxonomoía y la categoría de la Lista Roja de la UICN pudo haber cambiado desde esta publicación.

Text account compilers Phil Benstead (BirdLife International), Jeremy Bird (BirdLife International), Stuart Butchart (BirdLife International), Rob P Clay (Guyra Paraguay), Isabel Isherwood (BirdLife International), Simon Mahood (BirdLife International), Ben Sullivan (BirdLife International Global Seabird Programme), David Wege (BirdLife International)

Contributors Dean Demarest, P. Feldmann, Eladio Fernandez (Hispaniolan Ornithological Society), John Gerwin, D.S. Lee, Anthony Levesque (Reserve Naturelle des ilets de la Petite-Terre), P. Villard

IUCN Red List evaluators Stuart Butchart (BirdLife International), Simon Mahood (BirdLife International)

Recommended citation BirdLife International (2009) Species factsheet: Pterodroma hasitata. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 10/2/2010

This information is based upon, and updates, the information published in BirdLife International (2000) Threatened birds of the world. Barcelona and Cambridge, UK: Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, BirdLife International (2004) Threatened birds of the world 2004 CD-ROM and BirdLife International (2008) Threatened birds of the world 2008 CD-ROM. These sources provide the information for species accounts for the birds on the IUCN Red List.

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