CreatureData

Bermuda petrel

Pterodroma cahow (Nichols & Mowbray, 1916)

ENEndangeredbirds

The bermuda petrel (Pterodroma cahow) is a species in the family Procellariidae, order Procellariiformes. Recorded adults weigh 246 g to 355 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Endangered.

Bermuda petrel (Pterodroma cahow)
Photo: Richard Crossley · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the bermuda petrel

Weight
246 g – 355 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Wingspan
85 cm – 92 cmsrc for Wingspan
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
marinesrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
52.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
1src for Young per litter or clutch
Litters or clutches a year
1src for Litters or clutches a year
Lifestyle
Generalistsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Partialsrc for Migration
Conservation status
Endangered (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

How big is the bermuda petrel?

BERMUDA PETREL · WINGSPAN 92 CMADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 92 cm, the recorded maximum wingspan of the bermuda petrel is about 54% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Where does the bermuda petrel live?

Not recorded

What is the bermuda petrel?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The Bermuda petrel (Pterodroma cahow) is a gadfly petrel. Commonly known in Bermuda as the cahow, a name derived from its eerie cries, this nocturnal ground-nesting seabird is the national bird of Bermuda and is pictured on Bermudian currency. Bermuda petrels are the second rarest seabird on the planet. They have medium-sized bodies and long wings, a greyish-black crown and collar, dark grey upper-wings and tail, white upper-tail coverts and white under-wings edged with black, and the underparts are completely white.

For 300 years, it was thought to be extinct. The dramatic rediscovery in 1951 of eighteen nesting pairs made this a "Lazarus species", that is, a species found to be alive after having been considered extinct. Its rediscovery inspired a book and two documentary films. A national programme to preserve the bird and restore the species has helped increase its numbers, but scientists are still working to enlarge its nesting habitat on the restored Nonsuch Island.

From the Wikipedia article “Bermuda petrel” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bermuda_petrel&oldid=1383534406), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the bermuda petrel endangered?

The bermuda petrel is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List: it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Endangered species.

How is the bermuda petrel classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderProcellariiformes
  5. familyProcellariidae
  6. genusPterodroma
  7. SpeciesPterodroma cahow (Nichols & Mowbray, 1916)

Synonyms Aestrelata cahow

Other names and names in other languages (36)
  • Bermuda cahowEnglish
  • CahowEnglish
  • CahowEnglish
  • نوء برموداArabic
  • petrell de les BermudesCatalan
  • buřňák bermudskýCzech
  • Bermuda-petrelDanish
  • BermudasturmvogelGerman
  • Bermuda-SturmvogelGerman
  • bermuda petreloEsperanto
  • Petrel cahowSpanish
  • Fardela de BermudasSpanish
  • bermuda tormilindEstonian
  • bermudanviistäjäFinnish
  • Pétrel des BermudesFrench
  • Diablotin des BermudesFrench
  • CathúIrish
  • bermudski zovojCroatian
  • bermuda-szigeteki viharmadárHungarian
  • Petrello delle BermudaItalian
  • バミューダミズナギドリJapanese
  • bermudinis audrašauklisLithuanian
  • Bermudu vētrasputnsLatvian
  • BermudastormvogelDutch
  • Bermuda-stormvogelDutch
  • petrel bermudzkiPolish
  • freira-das-bermudasPortuguese
  • grazina-das-bermudasPortuguese
  • Бермудский тайфунникRussian
  • tajfúnnik bermudskýSlovak
  • Bermudska burnicaSerbian
  • bermudapetrellSwedish
  • Bermuda FırtınakuşuTurkish
  • тайфунник бермудськийUkrainian
  • 百慕大圆尾鹱Chinese
  • 百慕達圓尾鸌Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the bermuda petrel

Other species in the same genus Pterodroma.

CompareBermuda petrel vs Great-winged petrelBermuda petrel vs Soft-plumaged petrelBermuda petrel vs Black-winged petrelBermuda petrel vs Barau's petrel

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the bermuda petrel?

An adult bermuda petrel weighs 246 g – 355 g and has a wingspan of 85 cm – 92 cm, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the bermuda petrel endangered?

The bermuda petrel is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.

What kind of animal is the bermuda petrel?

The bermuda petrel (Pterodroma cahow) belongs to the family Procellariidae in the order Procellariiformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Bermuda petrel (Pterodroma cahow). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/bermuda-petrel

MLA

“Bermuda petrel (Pterodroma cahow).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/bermuda-petrel.

BibTeX
@misc{bermuda_petrel_2026,
  title = {Bermuda petrel (Pterodroma cahow)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/bermuda-petrel},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}