NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Fork-tailed Storm Petrel
Hydrobates furcatus (J. F. Gmelin, 1789)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The fork-tailed storm petrel (Hydrobates furcatus) is a small seabird of the storm petrel family Hydrobatidae. It is the second-most abundant and widespread storm petrel (after Leach's storm petrel) and is the only bird in its family that is bluish-grey in colour.
The fork-tailed storm petrel is pelagic, spending up to 8 months in the northern Pacific Ocean. They only return to land to breed, where they nest in a single colony. Their nests can be found in a rock crevice or small burrow, where a single egg is laid. Their breeding range is along the coast of the northern Pacific Ocean, extending from northern California to northeast Asia.
They mainly feed on planktonic crustaceans, small fish, and squid, but also consume offal. Similarly to other storm petrels, they forage by picking food off the surface of the water while in flight.
Wikipedia contributors, Fork-tailed storm petrel; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T10:48:39.537220+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Hydrobates furcatus (J. F. Gmelin, 1789)
- Name authority
- (J. F. Gmelin, 1789)
- Common name
- Fork-tailed Storm Petrel
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Procellariiformes
- Family
- Hydrobatidae
- Genus
- Hydrobates
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderProcellariiformes
- familyHydrobatidae Mathews, 1912
- genusHydrobates F. Boie, 1822
- speciesHydrobates furcatus (J. F. Gmelin, 1789)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Hydrobates. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| European Storm PetrelHydrobates pelagicus (Linnaeus, 1758) | HydrobatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Leach's Storm PetrelHydrobates leucorhous (Vieillot, 1818) | HydrobatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Townsend's Storm PetrelHydrobates socorroensis (C. H. Townsend, 1890) | HydrobatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Ainley's Storm PetrelHydrobates cheimomnestes (Ainley, 1980) | HydrobatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Ringed Storm PetrelHydrobates hornbyi (G. R. Gray, 1854) | HydrobatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Swinhoe's Storm PetrelHydrobates monorhis (Swinhoe, 1867) | HydrobatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Ashy Storm PetrelHydrobates homochroa (Coues, 1864) | HydrobatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Band-rumped Storm PetrelHydrobates castro (Harcourt, 1851) | HydrobatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Monteiro's Storm PetrelHydrobates monteiroi (Bolton, A. L. Smith, Gómez-Díaz, Friesen, Medeiros, Bried, Roscales & Furness, 2008) | HydrobatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Cape Verde Storm PetrelHydrobates jabejabe (Barboza du Bocage, 1875) | HydrobatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Wedge-rumped Storm PetrelHydrobates tethys (Bonaparte, 1852) | HydrobatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black Storm PetrelHydrobates melania (Bonaparte, 1854) | HydrobatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Oceanodroma furcata (J. F. Gmelin, 1789) (J. F. Gmelin, 1789) | synonym |
| Procellaria furcata J. F. Gmelin, 1789 J. F. Gmelin, 1789 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
North America
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=1255026 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:D5KF2. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.