About Oceanites maorianus (Mathews, 1932)
The New Zealand storm petrel (scientific name Oceanites maorianus (Mathews, 1932)) is a small seabird. Its upperparts are dark brown or black, with the exception of a white rump. On its underparts, the area from the throat to the breast is black, while the belly is white with black streaking, and its feet extend well past the tip of the tail. At breeding sites, this storm petrel is strictly nocturnal, a behavior that helps it avoid predation by larger, more aggressive gulls and skuas. Like most petrels, it has limited walking ability, and can only shuffle a short distance to reach its burrow. It can be distinguished from Wilson's storm petrel (O. oceanicus), the more common petrel species found in New Zealand, by several features: a pale bar on the upper wing, a streaked white belly, a narrow white panel on the underwings, longer legs, and dark webs on the feet. Outside of the breeding season, the New Zealand storm petrel is pelagic and stays out at sea. Combined with its remote breeding sites, this pelagic lifestyle makes the species very difficult to observe.
