Endemic to New Zealand, though mainland colonies of the Black Petrel no longer exist, the breeding population is found on Great Barrier Island and Little Barrier Island. During the non-breeding months (June to September) Black Petrel fly as far as the north-western coast of South America, and have been reported off the coasts of Panama, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico and the Galapagos Islands.
When hunting for food they often fly over 500km making shallow plunges for their prey of deep-sea squid which migrate into surface waters at night.
They are monogamous, and nest in burrows. The male does nearly all the early work, cleaning out the burrow, and bringing the nest material. After mating, the birds leave for sea for about 22 days. They return to lay one egg in early December... read more, and soon after laying, the male takes over incubation. There are three main incubation shifts, each lasting about 17 days, the female finishing with a short final spell. The parents guard the chick for longer than most petrels. For most of the first 10 days, one of the parents looks after the chick by day. The feeding routine then settles down to a parental visit every 3 or 4 days, each parent visiting once a week. They bring such huge meals that the chick grows erratically to reach over 1kg. After 105 to 110 days the young petrel departs. The fledgling is not shown where to take off by its parents. The adults fly from trees above the forest. The chick has to find its own way out of the forest. Young birds do not revisit the breeding places until they are five years old.
RosinaBloom
When hunting for food they often fly over 500km making shallow plunges for their prey of deep-sea squid which migrate into surface waters at night.
They are monogamous, and nest in burrows. The male does nearly all the early work, cleaning out the burrow, and bringing the nest material. After mating, the birds leave for sea for about 22 days. They return to lay one egg in early December... read more