European Storm-Petrel (Hydrobates pelagicus)
European Storm-Petrels are comparatively long-lived for their size, and where possible, pairs meet up every year to breed. They lay a single egg that may weigh as much as a quarter of the female’s weight. Not surprisingly, then, the male tends to take the first incubation shift to give the female time to recover; he may stay put for as long as six days. Although Storm Petrel youngsters are fed by both parents and soon exceed them in weight, they are never abandoned or starved out of their burrows, as can be the case among some species of shearwater.
The Storm Petrel lives at sea outside the breeding season, and most of our birds travel to the coast of South Africa. While feeding they patter on the water surface, often holding their wings far above their backs, holding position.