Cook’s Petrel

Pterodroma cookii

This bird is the smallest of the petrel group and believed to breed only in New Zealand. When not breeding they range over much of the Pacific Ocean.

The breeding success for Cook’s Petrels is compromised by introduced rats on the islands where they nest. Ongoing efforts to eradicate these invasive pests have improved their breeding success, but their population is still considered vulnerable by researchers.

Taxonomists regard the Cook’s Petrel as monotypic (there are no subspecies).

My only meeting with this species was a distant view from the deck of the boat during our voyage to the Revillagigedo Islands in 2017.

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