WEDGE-RUMPED STORM-PETREL Oceanodroma tethys (Bonaparte, 1852)

Accepted: 7 (37%)	Treated in Appendix H: no
Not accepted: 12	CBRC review: all records
Not submitted/reviewed: 0	Color image: none

This storm-petrel’s nominate subspecies breeds on the Galapagos Islands (AOU 1957) and is sometimes called the Galapagos Storm-Petrel. The smaller O. t. kelsalli breeds on islands off the coasts of Peru (Murphy 1936) and north-central Chile (Simeone et al. 2003). The species’ normal range at sea is limited to tropical waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean north to waters off Baja California Sur (Howell and Webb 1995, Ribic et al. 1997, Spear and Ainley 2007). On 31 January 1950 a non-breeding male assigned to O. t. tethys was collected at Isla Guadalupe, located far off the central Baja California Peninsula (SDNHM 29900; Huey 1952).

California’s first Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrel, a bird referable to kelsalli, was found on 21 January 1969 in a backyard in Carmel, Monterey County (Yadon 1970b). Six more records have followed, all from Monterey Bay southward during what seems to be a post-breeding-season dispersal period (23 July–9 October). Identifying the Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrel can be difficult and is not covered well in many field guides. The apparent extent of white on the rump changes with viewing conditions and molt. As a result, the CBRC has endorsed fewer than two out of every five individuals submitted for review.

 

 

[MARKHAM’S STORM-PETREL Oceanodroma markhami (Salvin, 1883) – see hypothetical section]

 

[TRISTRAM’S STORM-PETREL Oceanodroma tristrami Salvin, 1896 – see hypothetical section]

 

[JACKASS PENGUIN Spheniscus demersus (Linnaeus, 1758) – see hypothetical section]