UKBirds

Fea's Petrel

Pterodroma feae

Fea's Petrel is a small seabird in the gadfly petrel genus, Pterodroma. It was previously considered to be a subspecies of the Soft-plumaged Petrel, P. mollis, but they are actually not closely related at all. However, P. feae is very closely related to Zino's Petrel and Deserta's Petrel, two other species recently split from P. mollis.

This long-winged petrel is 33-36 cm in length with an 86-94 cm wingspan. It has a grey back and wings, with a dark "W" marking across the wings. The undersides of the wings are dark and the belly is white. It has a fast impetuous flight. It picks planktonic food items from the ocean surface. This species is very similar to the Zino's Petrel, but is larger and has a thicker black bill.

As all three of species in the Pterodroma feae/madeira/desertae complex were once believed to be subspecies of a single species: Pterodroma mollis. Well-understood is the extreme difficulty in telling them apart.