A small petrel with a grey back, dark wingtips and a white face and belly flying against a pale blue sky — Photo: Charlie Thomas · CC0 1.0

EndemicRelict

Cook's petrel

tītī · Pterodroma cookii

Seen offshore from October to February, most often in November, sometimes in large flocks heading to or from Hauturu. Look for a small grey-and-white seabird with a dark 'M' across its wings, swooping high over the waves.

Story

Cook's petrels once nested on mountain tops and ranges across the North and South Islands. Today nearly all of them breed on Hauturu/Little Barrier, about 30 km north-east of Kawau, with a smaller population on Whenua Hou/Codfish Island and a few pairs on Aotea/Great Barrier. After kiore were removed from Hauturu in 2006, breeding success rose from 5% to 60%. About 286,000 pairs nested there in 2007.

Behaviour

A small, fast gadfly petrel that swings over the waves in high arcs on narrow wings. They feed far out to sea, mostly on small squid, and can cover thousands of kilometres on a single foraging trip. They come and go from the colony only at night, arriving about an hour after sunset.