104. Wilson's Storm Petrel (Oceanites oceanicus)

Wilson's Storm Petrel is slightly larger than the European Storm Petrel, with no white in its underwing, a white rump which encircles the tail and almost meets underneath, and much longer legs which project beyond the tail when it's not dabbling them around on the water's surface while feeding (behaviour which is also seen in other storm petrel species). It breeds in the Southern Hemisphere on the Antarctic coast and subantarctic islands, spending the rest of its time widely distributed throughout the oceans of the southern hemisphere and as far north in the Atlantic as the waters off the southwest coast of the UK.

Wilson's Storm Petrel, ©Dan Irizarry, via Flickr Creative Commons.

Wilson's Storm Petrel sketch.

I thought I'd have a go at two birds today as I really liked this photo which illustrates well the intriguing and charming feeding behaviour of Wilson's Storm Petrel! I found drawing 2 birds quite a helpful exercise, good for extra practise and improving upon mistakes.