CreatureData

Mottled petrel

Pterodroma inexpectata (J. R. Forster, 1844)

NTNear Threatenedbirds

The mottled petrel (Pterodroma inexpectata) is a species in the family Procellariidae, order Procellariiformes. Recorded adults weigh 225.1 g to 317.3 g. Source checklists list it for 1 country: Australia. Its IUCN Red List status is Near Threatened.

Mottled petrel (Pterodroma inexpectata)
Photo: C00ch at English Wikipedia · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the mottled petrel

Weight
225.1 g – 317.3 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
marinesrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
50.5 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
Aerialsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Partialsrc for Migration
Conservation status
Near Threatened (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
1 countrysrc for Countries on record

Where does the mottled petrel live?

Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.

The mottled petrel is listed for 1 country.

Australia
  • Listed
  • Not listed
small islands are not drawn at this scale

The same countries as a list

  1. Australia

Why a country list is not a range map

Listed by: ITIS (scope: global), through the Catalogue of Life.

What is the mottled petrel?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The mottled petrel (Pterodroma inexpectata) or kōrure is a species of seabird and a member of the gadfly petrels. It usually attains 33 to 35 cm (13–14 in) in length with a 74 to 82 cm (29–32 in) wingspan.

This species is highly pelagic, rarely approaching land, except to nest and rear young. The mottled petrel feeds mostly on fish and squid, with some crustaceans taken. It is a transequatorial migrant, breeding in the islands of New Zealand, and migrating to the Bering Sea, concentrating in the Gulf of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands.

It was previously found on mainland New Zealand North and South Islands, but is now only found on smaller off-shore islands near Fiordland, Stewart Island and Snares Islands, with the largest populations on Codfish Island, Big South Cape Island and the Snares Islands.

The mottled petrel uses burrows and rock crevices to nest in. It was formerly more numerous than today. The species' numbers have been and continue to be affected by predation by introduced mammals. Chicks have been reintroduced to Maungaharuru, hills 24 km from the sea, in Hawke's Bay.

From the Wikipedia article “Mottled petrel” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mottled_petrel&oldid=1314819508), 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 mottled petrel endangered?

The mottled petrel is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List: it is close to qualifying as threatened.

  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 Near Threatened species. What the categories mean.

How is the mottled petrel classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderProcellariiformes
  5. familyProcellariidae
  6. genusPterodroma
  7. SpeciesPterodroma inexpectata (J. R. Forster, 1844)

Synonyms Procellaria inexpectata, Procellaria lugens, Pterodroma inexpectata inexpectata, Pterodroma inexpectata thompsoni, Pterodroma neglus

Other names and names in other languages (38)
  • KorureEnglish
  • Peale's petrelEnglish
  • Scaled petrelEnglish
  • نوء منقطArabic
  • petrell clapejatCatalan
  • buřňák pruhokřídlýCzech
  • pedryn brychWelsh
  • MarmorpetrelDanish
  • RegensturmvogelGerman
  • MakulpetreloEsperanto
  • makula petreloEsperanto
  • Petrel moteadoSpanish
  • hallkõht-tormilindEstonian
  • مرغ باران لکهدارPersian
  • kiertoviistäjäFinnish
  • Pétrel maculéFrench
  • Diablotin maculéFrench
  • sivotrbi zovojCroatian
  • Pjegava burnicaCroatian
  • Petrello maculatoItalian
  • マダラシロハラミズナギドリJapanese
  • margasis audrašauklisLithuanian
  • raibais vētrasputnsLatvian
  • KōrureMāori
  • regenstormvogelDutch
  • gråbukpetrellNorwegian
  • petrel szarobrzuchyPolish
  • freira-malhadaPortuguese
  • freira-pintalgadaPortuguese
  • grazina-mosqueadaPortuguese
  • Пёстрый тайфунникRussian
  • tajfúnnik sivobruchýSlovak
  • gråbukig petrellSwedish
  • lafu ʻileʻilaTongan
  • Gri Karınlı FırtınakuşuTurkish
  • тайфунник ПілаUkrainian
  • 鱗斑圓尾鸌Chinese
  • 鳞斑圆尾鹱Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the mottled petrel

Other species in the same genus Pterodroma.

CompareMottled petrel vs Bermuda petrelMottled petrel vs Great-winged petrelMottled petrel vs Soft-plumaged petrelMottled petrel vs Black-winged petrel

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the mottled petrel?

An adult mottled petrel weighs 225.1 g – 317.3 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Where does the mottled petrel live?

Catalogue of Life checklists list the mottled petrel for 1 country: Australia. Checklist coverage is uneven, so the true range may be wider.

Is the mottled petrel endangered?

The mottled petrel is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is close to qualifying as threatened.

What kind of animal is the mottled petrel?

The mottled petrel (Pterodroma inexpectata) 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). Mottled petrel (Pterodroma inexpectata). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/mottled-petrel

MLA

“Mottled petrel (Pterodroma inexpectata).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/mottled-petrel.

BibTeX
@misc{mottled_petrel_2026,
  title = {Mottled petrel (Pterodroma inexpectata)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/mottled-petrel},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}