Data Zone
Justification of Red List category
This species has a small breeding range and a small number of breeding locations, and may be declining overall owing to predation by introduced mammals. The threat of introduced predators could drive the species towards extinction within a very short time. For these reasons, the species qualifies as Vulnerable.
Population justification
Based on currently known colonies, the global population is estimated to number 3,000-21,000 individuals, roughly equivalent to 2,000-14,000 mature individuals (V. Bretagnolle in litt. 1999, 2000, Garnet and Crowley 2000, Priddel and Carlile 2009). However, this is pending the discovery of possible new colonies in New Caledonia.
Trend justification
There are no data on population trends in caledonica, and although leucoptera is now stable the species is suspected to be declining overall, owing mainly to predation of nesting adults and chicks.
Pterodroma leucoptera only breeds in Australia and New Caledonia (to France). A small colony on Raivavae, Austral Islands, French Polynesia (V. Bretagnolle in litt. 1999, 2000, 2016) is closer to P. brevipes than to P. leucoptera. While the two main sub populations in New Caledonia (P. l. caledonica) and Australia (P. l. leucoptera) are similar genetically, they have strong ecological distinctiveness in foraging distribution, winter distribution, breeding phenology and breeding distribution (Iglesias-V et al. 2017). In Australia, P. leucoptera breeds on Cabbage Tree (0.3 km2) and adjacent Boondelbah (0.1 km2) Islands. It has also been recently found to breed on at least three sites on Broughton Island (1.3 km2) (Carlile et al. 2012) and Little Broughton Island (0.3 km2) (Carlile et al. 2013), 12 km northeast of Cabbage Tree and two sites 435 km south of Cabbage Tree on Montague Island (0.8 km2) (Fullagar et al. 2013) and Tollgates (0.1 km2) (Carlile et al. 2014). On Cabbage Tree, population estimates indicated a decline from 2,004 birds in 1970 to 1,157 in 1993 (Priddel and Carlile 1997b). However, conservation action undertaken since 1993 has seen the number of nesting pairs increase annually from fewer than 250 to c.1,025 in 2001, and numbers appear to be currently stable between 800-1000 pairs (Priddel and Carlile 2007, 2009). Following a translocation programme in 1999, approximately 50 pairs breed on Boondelbah (Priddel et al. 2006, D. Priddel in litt. 2012). In New Caledonia, one main breeding site of caledonica of 2,000-5,000 pairs is known on Mts Dzumac, another smaller breeding site (size unknown) occurs on south-eastern Dzumacs, and calling birds were found near Poya. Based on sightings at sea off New Caledonia, there may be c.1,000-10,000 pairs in total, although more colonies may lie undiscovered in isolated massifs on New Caledonia (Meeth and Meeth 1983, Bretagnolle and Thomas 1990, V. Bretagnolle in litt. 1999, 2000, Bretagnolle in Brooke 2004, V. Bretagnolle in litt. 2007). Petrels known historically from Vanuatu (still extant at least on Erromango and Tanna) are not this species, but P. brevipes (V. Bretagnolle in litt. 2016). Australian birds and New Caledonian birds disperse in different areas of central Pacific, with some birds even found western Australia (Rayner et al. 2014). Three individuals have been sighted over the waters around Fiji (T. Pyn in litt. 2008), and four around the Windward Islands (Champeau 2010). Non-breeders forage in the Southern Ocean as far south as the Antarctic coast (D. Priddel in litt. 2012). Recent tracking studies have revealed that during the non-breeding season, both subspecies migrate across the Pacific, but use different migration routes and over-winter in different regions of the ocean; leucoptera in the central Pacific south of Hawaii, and caledonia in the Eastern Pacific west of Ecuador (Priddel et al.2014).
It breeds in small, loose colonies of 10-50 pairs in burrows on steep, vegetated slopes on New Caledonia between 350 and 650 m, and among rocks and debris of cabbage tree palm Livistona australis or in rock scree on exposed slopes in Australia (Priddel and Carlile 1997a,b, V. Bretagnolle in litt. 1999, 2000, Bretagnolle in Brooke 2004, Carlile et al. 2012, 2013, 2015). During breeding, it feeds mainly cephalopods, fish and crustaceans (McGee et al. submitted), taken in the Tasman Sea and in the waters off southern Australia (Priddel et al. 2014). Banded adult birds have lived to more than 40 years of age (D. Priddel in litt. 2012).
Black rats Rattus rattus have been found predating both eggs and adults and this may constitute a major threat: a previously rat-free colony declined rapidly after the invasion of rats in 2002 (V. Bretagnolle in litt. 2007). On New Caledonia, introduced pigs excavate chicks from burrows (F. Hannecart in litt. 1999) or eat chicks at fledgling time (V. Bretagnolle, pers. obs.). The White-winged Petrel experiences cat predation on New Caledonia and was found in 0.2-2.5% of cat scats studied (Palmas et al. 2017). Introduced rabbits on Cabbage Tree Island have probably changed the island's vegetation to favour increased populations of Pied Currawong, which predate White-winged Petrel, and Birdlime Trees, the fruit of which represents an entanglement risk (Priddel and Carlile 1997b). Tens of birds probably are accidentally killed annually between January and April around Noumea when they are attracted to lights; continuing urbanisation is likely to make this situation worse (SCO in litt. 2007). In 1995, egg abandonment on Cabbage Tree suggested unidentified marine threats, although it coincided with an Australia-wide die-off of pilchards Sadinops sagax neopilchardus (Priddel and Carlile 1997b, Carlile et al. 2003).
Conservation Actions Underway
On Cabbage Tree, Pisonia is being removed, rabbits have been extirpated (Priddel et al. 2000), S. graculina and C. coronoides are controlled, and other predators are monitored (Carlile et al. 2003, Priddel and Carlile 2009). As a result breeding success has increased from 20% to 50% (Priddel and Carlile 2007). Two hundred fledglings have been translocated from Cabbage Tree to Boondelbah where a small colony is now established (Priddle et al. 2006). In New Caledonia SCO have implemented an annual campaign to save petrels which are attracted to lights (SCO in litt. 2007). In 2007, nine birds were found and five released alive, but numbers must be higher and SCO hopes to make this campaign a major event (SCO in litt. 2007). In New Caledonia, the local government previously funded a rat control program near a large breeding colony (V. Bretagnolle in litt. 2007). Poison was set in October each year, before the petrels arrive and before the wet season (V. Bretagnolle in litt. 2007). This action has since been discontinued between 2009 and 2012 (N. Carlile in litt. 2012), was done again in 2013 to 2014, and has again stopped since then.
Conservation Actions Proposed
Survey potential breeding areas in New Caledonia. Assess breeding success and predation levels. Control introduced mammals. Monitor Australian populations biennially. In New Caledonia, study the impact of light pollution (and urbanisation) on the species. Increase the scope of the campaigns to save birds attracted to lights in the Noumea area. Considering the huge impact due to feral cats in New-Caledonia breeding sites, control campaigns are urgently needed.
30 cm Small, black-capped gadfly petrel. White forehead merging into dark brownish-grey cap and sides of cheeks. Grey upperparts with strong, dark M across wings and dark tail tip. Some birds show palepatch on inner primaries of upperwing. White underparts. White underwing with dark tip and trailing edge. Dark leading edge extends to well-defined black mark leading towards body from carpal joint. Similar spp. Broader dark leading margin to underwing than other Cookilaria species. Black-winged Petrel P. nigripennis has a much paler grey head. Collared Petrel P. brevipes has variably complete breast-band, decidedly bolder black marking along leading edge of wing, and is sometimes almost entirely dark ventrally.
Text account compilers
Martin, R., McClellan, R., Moreno, R., Stattersfield, A., Stuart, A., Taylor, J., Anderson, O., Dutson, G., Fjagesund, T., Garnett, S., Benstead, P., Calvert, R., Hermes, C., Mahood, S.
Contributors
Dutson, G., Priddel, D., Bretagnolle, V., Hannecart, F., Carlile, N., Spaggiari, J., Vidal, E., Tennyson, A.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: White-winged Petrel Pterodroma leucoptera. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/white-winged-petrel-pterodroma-leucoptera 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.