Family: Procellariidae, Shearwaters and Petrels view all from this family

Description 14-18" (36-46 cm). A long-winged, long-tailed petrel, dark above with black cap; white collar and rump (lacking in Manx and Audubon's shearwaters); white underparts. Viewed from below, wings have broad dark margins.

Habitat Open ocean, especially Gulf Stream waters.

Nesting 1 white egg in a burrow or rocky crevice on an isolated mountain ridge.

Range Breeds on larger islands in West Indies; visits Gulf Stream, regularly as far north as Carolinas.

Voice Usually silent at sea.

Discussion The Black-capped Petrel is a little-known seabird that visits its Caribbean nesting colonies only at night. The total population is small, and a mere handful drift northward along the Gulf Stream in summer and fall, after the breeding season. There they feed chiefly on squid, which they snatch from the surface of the water.