Storm-petrel

Hydrobates pelagicus

Order: Procellariiformes
Family: Hydrobatidae
Presence in the Strait: Migrant
Abundance: rare
Protection in Spain: Special protection (List)
In Spanish: Paiño europeo

Photograph: Julien Renoult, CC BY, vía iNaturalist

Length: 14–18 cm
Wingspan: 36–39 cm
Weight: 23 g

Presence in the Strait

Rare pelagic migrant with some winter visitors. Before the ‘80s it was considered abundant between May and September, which could have been an indication of breeding in the region.

Identification

Very small and black with square tail, white rump and broad white band on underwings. Flight, bat-like.

Movements

Scarce migrant, with most sightings in February and March and from September to November.

Bioestrecho editorial text. Last revised: 8 September 2026.

Photographs from iNaturalist observations with the licence checked file by file. Those marked “Strait” were taken within the area; place and date are those of each observation.

Calendar in the Strait

21 %

Peak in September. Observations under CC0 or CC BY licences. The distribution also reflects observation effort.

Where it is seen

Open records from the atlas database, in cells of about 9.0 km. Opacity follows the square root of the count, and also reflects where people observe most.

See on the map

Sensitive species (seabird breeding colony): its observations are shown with the location generalised to about 11 km, here and in the explorer. The original source keeps the exact position.

First open record: 2 August 1983
Latest record: 27 October 2024

The oldest and the most recent open observation in the extended area. A recent first observation does not mean the species is new: it means nobody had published it openly before.

Conservation

The catalogues, Andalusian and Spanish, are what binds; the Red Book assesses the Spanish population with IUCN criteria, and the global Red List is the context.

LCNTVUENCR

Andalusian Catalogue: Special protection (List)
Spanish Catalogue: Special protection (List)
Red Book of the Birds of Spain 2021: EN · Endangered · breeding
Global Red List (IUCN): LC · Least concern

Annex I of the Birds Directive

Andalusian Catalogue: Junta de Andalucía, list of 24 April 2025. Spanish Catalogue: MITECO, table of 30 June 2025. Red Book: SEO/BirdLife, 2021 (Annex I). IUCN: via GBIF, 6 September 2026. Red Book and IUCN categories are assessments; catalogue categories are legal obligations.

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Procellariiformes
Family: Hydrobatidae
GBIF taxon key: 4408455

Sources

Distribution and calendar: Bioestrecho's own database, ingested from GBIF and OBIS
Photograph: Julien Renoult, CC BY, vía iNaturalist
Taxonomy: GBIF backbone, pending WoRMS for marine taxa
Editorial text: written by Bioestrecho
Last revised: 8 September 2026

Storm-petrel

Presence in the Strait

Identification

Movements

Gallery