Black-capped Petrel Life History

Habitat

Black-capped Petrels spend most of the year in warm offshore waters, particularly along the western boundary of the Gulf Stream in the Atlantic Ocean, in the southern Caribbean Sea, and in the Loop Current in the Gulf of Mexico. In these areas they occur at "fronts" (boundaries between warm and cold currents) or large eddies that concentrate prey items where the currents meet. Black-capped Petrels also occur around areas of upwelling water that bring nutrients to the surface, such as around seamounts in the Caribbean. During the breeding season, Black-capped Petrels nest in burrows in steep mountain forests—both pine and broadleaf—on Caribbean islands. Most nesting colonies are in limestone terrain with steep ravines and canyons. Documented nesting sites are 15–31 km (9–19 miles) from the coast and range from 1,600 to 2,350 meters (5,200 to 7,700 feet) above sea level.

Food

Based on limited data, Black-capped Petrels feed mainly on squid and fish, taking prey at or just below the ocean surface. They may feed while sitting on the ocean surface (sometimes holding the head and neck underwater); dipping the bill into the water while on the wing; and on at least a few occasions, diving underwater. This species feeds mainly at night or in the early morning, but birds feed during the daytime as well.

Nesting

Nest Placement

Both sexes help build a burrow 0.5–3.0 meters (1.6–9.8 feet) below ground, in soil or pine needles. Some nests are placed in rock crevices.

Nest Description

A cup, often lined with leaf litter, pine needles, or feathers.

Nesting Facts

Behavior

Like other “gadfly petrels” in the genus Pterodroma, Black-capped Petrels soar dynamically over the ocean surface, traveling great distances with very few wingbeats. Their overall flight pattern is a distinctive rising-and-falling like a roller coaster as they soar in a high arc into the wind, pointing one wingtip at the water and the other to the sky, then turn downwind or across the wind and glide rapidly down again. Black-capped Petrels usually forage in small flocks that include other species, especially Cory’s Shearwater, Great Shearwater, Sargasso Shearwater, and Pomarine Jaeger in the summer and American Herring Gull and Black-legged Kittiwake in the winter.

Black-capped Petrels nest in loose colonies of burrows in steep mountain forests. Within these colonies, some nests are clustered in small groups of 3 to 10, situated within 20-50 meters (66–164 feet) of each other, while others are alone, 100–200 meters (330–660 feet) from the closest nest. Typically, the adults enter and leave the nest site only at night. When approaching the nest site, they crash through the forest canopy, land on the ground, and quickly enter the burrow. Both members of a pair, which are thought to be monogamous, contribute to burrow excavation, incubation, brooding, and chick feeding. Chicks fledge after 3.5 months.

Conservation

Partners in Flight estimates Black-capped Petrel’s global breeding population at 1,500 individuals and rates the species a 20 out of 20 on the Continental Concern Score and the 2025 State of the Birds Report identifies it as a Red Alert Tipping Point species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists Black-capped Petrel’s conservation status as Endangered based on its very small, fragmented breeding range and very small population. In 2024, the U.S. government listed Black-capped Petrel as Endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, based on an assessment that it is in danger of going extinct in all or a significant portion of its range. Major threats on the breeding grounds include habitat loss and degradation due to agricultural expansion, predation from introduced mammals (rats, cats, dogs, mongoose, and pigs), fire mortality, tower collisions, feral pigs, and livestock grazing.

Credits

BirdLife International. 2018. Pterodroma hasitata. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T22698092A132624510. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22698092A132624510.en.

Dunne, P. (2006). Pete Dunne’s essential field guide companion. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, New York, USA.

Howell, S. N. G. (2012). Petrels, Albatrosses, and Storm-Petrels of North America: A Photographic Guide. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, USA.

Satgé, Y., A. Brown, J. A. Wheeler, and K. E. Sutherland (2024). Black-capped Petrel (Pterodroma hasitata), version 3.1. In Birds of the World (S. M. Billerman, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.bkcpet.03.1

Sibley, D. A. (2014). The Sibley Guide to Birds, second edition. Alfred A. Knopf, New York, NY, USA.

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