Oceanodroma microsoma
Silhouette: Richard Crossley · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
The least storm petrel (Hydrobates microsoma) is a small seabird of the storm petrel family Hydrobatidae. It is 13–15 cm in length, with a wingspan of 32 cm. It is the smallest member of the order Procellariiformes. It was formerly defined in the genus Oceanodroma before that genus was synonymized with Hydrobates.
It breeds on islands off the Baja Peninsula and Gulf of California of Mexico in rock crevices or small burrows in soft earth and lays a single white egg.The single egg that this bird lays is white with a wreath of fine black specks around one and sometimes both ends. Like most petrels, its walking ability is limited to a short shuffle to the burrow. It is a colonial nester.
It spends the rest of the year at sea, reaching as far south as the tropical Pacific South America. It frequently can be seen well offshore of southern California in late summer and autumn. It feeds on mainly planktonic crustaceans, with a preference of larvae of spiny lobsters. It feeds similarly to other storm petrels, picking food off the surface of the water while in flight.
The least storm petrel suffers losses on some of the breeding islands, particularly from feral cats and rats. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coiba National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 2 | Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 3 | Cabo Pulmo National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Diego | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Los Angeles | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Least Storm-Petrel sighting in San Diego on a given day, based on 48 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 341st most-seen of the 386 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Least Storm-Petrel in San Diego on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Least Storm-Petrel sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 2 cities where we can rate Least Storm-Petrel sightings, San Diego has the highest daily chance: under 5%. Next come Los Angeles (United States, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Least Storm-Petrel is recorded against all the birds logged in San Diego (48 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
