The Hawaiian dark-rumped petrel reappears on Hawaii

Author:

Baldwin, Paul H., Hubbard, Douglas H.

Title:

The Hawaiian dark-rumped petrel reappears on Hawaii

Periodical:

Condor

Year:

1949

Volume:

51

Pages:

231-232

Subject:

Hawaiian Dark-rumped Petrel Uau Pterodroma phaeopygia sandwichensis

Summary:

On November 8, 1948, a Hawaiian Dark-rumped Petrel (Pterodroma phaeopygia sandwichensis), that seem to have landed at the front of a severe southerly storm, was caught alive at the north rim of Kilauea caldera at about 4000 feet elevation on the island of Hawaii. Outwardly, it appeared to be in good condition but an examination revealed head and leg injuries and that its actions were weak. As a result, the petrel died after four days. Prior to this, the latest record for this species on this island of Hawaii was in 1900 when a single specimen was taken from this island. Then in 1907, petrel was collected in some numbers at nesting grounds in the mountains of Molokai, and in 1926 two specimens were taken from the island of Lanai. Night calls and screams that were most likely attributable to the Hawaiian Petrel were heard occasionally by residents of Hawaii when, on the stormy nights of December, 1948 and March, 1949, calls were heard in the Volcano district at Kilauea. However, Henshaw describes calls such as these that were heard in the Hilo area, as common occurrences in the 1890s that have been heard within recent years in the vicinity of Hilo. While it was feared that nesting might have been prevented since the early 1900s on Hawaii and Molokai by introduced mongoose, it appears that the bird was able to maintain itself somewhere in the archipelago, perhaps on Kauai, where there are no mongoose. However, nothing seems to be known of the present nesting and feeding areas of this species.

Label:

Birds - Dark-Rumped Petrel

URL:

https://sora.unm.edu/node/100083

Date:

1949

Collection:

Periodicals