Current view: Data table and detailed info
Taxonomic note
Hydrobates castro (del Hoyo and Collar 2014) has been split into H. castro and H. jabejabe (Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International 2018). Wallace et al. (2017) provides molecular support for the acceptance of the population of Band-rumped Storm-petrel Hydrobates castro jabejabe on the Cape Verdes as a full species, as indicated by at least two previous studies (cited in del Hoyo and Collar [2014]: 372). A study by Bolton (2007) revealed that the Cape Verde birds differ rather strongly in voice:
'The hot-season Azores calls generally have a simple one- or two-syllable, rising breath note, stressed on the last syllable, that contrasts markedly with the more protracted, four-syllable (rarely five-syllable) breath note of the sympatric cool-season population, stressed on the penultimate syllable. Cape Verde Burrow Calls are typified by extremely infrequent interruptions of the purr phrase, which on occasion may continue for several minutes without a breath note.'
Examination of the sonagrams in Bolton (2007) strongly suggests that Tobias scores on vocal differences would be very high. This and the very consistent molecular evidence points to the recognition of the Cape Verde population as a full species. Bocage (1875) tentatively described the taxon jabe-jabe from Raso, Cape Verdes, on the basis of a single specimen which he distinguished from H. leucorhous (rather than from H. castro) by its stronger and glossier (vs grey-washed matt sooty) black head and back, lack of brown shafts in the white uppertail-coverts, less forked tail, slightly stronger bill, slightly shorter toes and legs. This is unhelpful in establishing whether there are any characters that distinguish jabejabe from castro, but photographs on the internet suggest it has a marginally wider white rump and more contrasting upperwing-coverts.
Taxonomic source(s)
Bocage, J. V. B. 1875. Observações ácerca do ‘Corvo’ do Archipelago de Cabo-Verde. J. Sciencias Mathematicas, Physicas e Naturaes 5 : 113-120.
Bolton, M. 2007. Playback experiments indicate absence of vocal recognition among temporally and geographically separated populations of Madeira Storm-petrels Oceanodroma castro. Ibis 149(2): 255-263.
Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International. 2018. Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 3. Available at: https://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v3_Nov18.zip.
Wallace, S. J., Morris-Pocock, J. A., González-Solís, J., Quillfeldt, P. & Friesen, V. L. 2017. A phylogenetic test of sympatric speciation in the Hydrobatinae (Aves: Procellariiformes). Molec. Phylogen. Evol. 107: 39-47.
IUCN Red List criteria met and history
Red List criteria met
Red List history
Migratory status |
full migrant |
Forest dependency |
does not normally occur in forest |
Land-mass type |
|
Average mass |
- |
Population justification: Population estimates from several islands in its breeding range suggests that the overall population size is likely greater than 10,000 mature individuals overall (M. Lecoq in litt. 2018) (c.15,500-67,500), with further areas still to be quantified (M. Lecoq in litt. 2018).
Trend justification: The population is suspected to be in decline owing to predation by invasive species, potential exploitation by humans and habitat degradation.
Country/territory distribution
Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA)
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Cape Verde Storm-petrel Hydrobates jabejabe. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/cape-verde-storm-petrel-hydrobates-jabejabe on 22/12/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 22/12/2024.