Short Notes

Blue Petrels Halobaena caerulea discovered breeding on Gough Island

Published in: Ostrich: Journal of African Ornithology
Volume 86 , issue 1-2 : Memorial Issue Commemorating the Work of the Late Philip Hockey , 2015 , pages: 193–194

DOI: 10.2989/00306525.2015.1005558

Author(s): Peter G Ryan Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, DST–NRF Centre of Excellence, South Africa , Ben J Dilley Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, DST–NRF Centre of Excellence, South Africa , Christopher Jones Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, DST–NRF Centre of Excellence, South Africa , Alexander L Bond RSPB Centre for Conservation Science, UK

Keywords: Blue Petrel , Gough Island , northward expansion , subantarctic

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Abstract

The Blue Petrel Halobaena caerulea breeds at five subantarctic island groups and at islands off southern Chile in a narrow latitudinal band from 47° to 56° S on either side of the Antarctic Polar Front. We found a colony on Gough Island (40° S, 10° W), central South Atlantic Ocean, more than 700 km north of its known breeding range. Breeding appears to take place later than at colonies farther south. Although the colony is in a fairly frequently visited part of the island, it might have been overlooked rather than representing a recent range extension.

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