White-necked Petrel

This species resembles the Falla's Petrel, P. occulta, but is slightly larger at 43 centimetres in length, 30–32 centimetres in wing span and 380–545 grams in weight. It has a black cap, white rear neck, dark grey back, wings and tail, and a darker rump. The underparts are white with dark bases to the primary feathers. The upperparts of worn birds become darker.

The White-necked Petrel is classified as Vulnerable (VU), considered to be facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.

The White-necked Petrel (Pterodroma cervicalis) is a species of seabird in the Procellariidae family. During non-breeding season it occurs throughout a large part of the Pacific, but it is only known to breed on Macauley Island in New Zealand's Kermadec Islands and the Australian territory of Norfolk Island and Phillip Island. It formerly bred on Raoul Island, but has now been extirpated from this locality. Reports of breeding on Mere Lava, Vanuatu, are more likely to be the very similar Vanuatu or Falla's Petrel, P. More

White-necked Petrel Pterodroma cervicalis 2009 IUCN Red List Category (as evaluated by BirdLife International - the official Red List Authority for birds for IUCN): Vulnerable Justification This species qualifies as Vulnerable because it has a very small range, on two or three very small islands, and it is therefore susceptible to stochastic events and human impacts. More

This species resembles the White-necked Petrel, but is slightly smaller at 40 centimetres (16 in) in length and 300–350 grams (11–12 oz) in weight. It has a black cap, white rear neck, dark grey back, wings and tail, and a darker rump. The underparts are white with dark bases to the primary feathers. Like White-necked, the upperparts of worn birds become darker. It is very difficult to separate Falla's Petrel from White-necked Petrel at sea. More

White-necked Petrel Pterodroma cervicalis in the Kermadec Islands, and Vanuatu Petrel around Vanuatu), and also prior to examining the 6 specimens of occulta at the AMNH. In the future, I will be happy to share the results of these studies with others but not in this short response. More

White-necked Petrel Pterodroma cervicalis - White-necked Petrel, Norfolk Island, March 2007 White-necked Petrel, Norfolk Island, March 2007 Off Norfolk Island, Australia, March 2007 Note that the black line on the underwing arcs away from the leading edge on the 'hand' as well as on the 'arm'. More

White-necked Petrel Pterodroma cervicalis White-necked Petrel Photographer : More

We did however see another White-necked Petrel at sea as well as 2 Kermadecs, 2 Black-winged and a Gould's. More

After an hour or so a WHITE-NECKED PETREL closed upon us from astern, providing a much-needed boost to the prospect of us having a good day. Eventually the wind shifted to the east and we were able to change course into it but our cruise out to the edge of the continental shelf remained uncomfortable. Jaegers dominated the proceedings, including some handsome LONG-TALED JEAGERS, but a steady stream of WHITE-NECKED PETRELS kept our expectations high. More