Henderson petrel

The Henderson petrel (Pterodroma atrata) is a ground-nesting species of seabird in the Procellariidae family. Adults measure on average 37 cm. It has a uniform grey-brown plumage. It is classified among the Gadfly petrels.

It is found in the Pitcairn Islands, and possibly in French Polynesia, though confusion over the taxon makes reports of this species in the Marquesas, Tuamotus, Australs and Gambiers uncertain. Breeding colonies formerly existed on Ducie Island, but were wiped out by invasive rats by 1922. It is now believed to nest uniquely on Henderson island, which was declared a World Heritage Site in 1988. The International Union for Conservation of Nature classifies it as closely related to Pterodroma arminjoniana and Pterodroma heraldica. Its natural habitat is the moist subtropical scrub found on that island. The endangered habitat of this species was identified in 2007 as requiring urgent action to restore it.

During Captain Cook's first voyage, Daniel Solander recorded in his manuscript on 21 March 1769 his observations on a new petrel, on which he named Procellaria atrata. Solander's account only became known when Gregory Mathews published it in 1912. Mathews renamed it Pterodroma atrata, since dark-plumage birds of this species were considered to be dark-morphed herald petrels. It was only as late as 1996 that evidence was provided that these birds were specifically distinct from pale-morph herald petrels.