Species names in all available languages
| Language | Common name |
|---|---|
| Catalan | petrell del Carib |
| Czech | buřňák černotemenný |
| Danish | Cariberpetrel |
| Dutch | Zwartkapstormvogel |
| English | Black-capped Petrel |
| English (United States) | Black-capped Petrel |
| French | Pétrel diablotin |
| French (France) | Pétrel diablotin |
| Galician | Freira das Antillas |
| German | Teufelssturmvogel |
| Greek | Μαυροκέφαλος Πτεροδρόμος |
| Haitian Creole (Haiti) | Chanwan Lasèl |
| Hebrew | סערון שחור-כיפה |
| Hungarian | Karib viharmadár |
| Icelandic | Blesudrúði |
| Japanese | ズグロシロハラミズナギドリ |
| Lithuanian | Karibinis audrašauklis |
| Norwegian | vestindiapetrell |
| Polish | petrel antylski |
| Portuguese (Brazil) | diablotim |
| Portuguese (Portugal) | Freira-das-antilhas |
| Romanian | Petrel caraibian |
| Russian | Черношапочный тайфунник |
| Serbian | Crnokapa burnica |
| Slovak | tajfúnnik čiapočkatý |
| Slovenian | Karibski švigavec |
| Spanish | Petrel Antillano |
| Spanish (Costa Rica) | Petrel Gorrinegro |
| Spanish (Cuba) | Pájaro de La Bruja |
| Spanish (Dominican Republic) | Diablotín |
| Spanish (Puerto Rico) | Petrel Antillano |
| Spanish (Spain) | Petrel antillano |
| Spanish (Venezuela) | Petrel Cabecinegro |
| Swedish | karibpetrell |
| Turkish | Kara Başlıklı Fırtınakuşu |
| Ukrainian | Тайфунник кубинський |
Revision Notes
The Conservation and Management page was updated to reflect the species' listing on the U.S. Endangered Species Act.
Pterodroma hasitata (Kuhl, 1820)
Definitions
- PTERODROMA
- hasitata
The Key to Scientific Names
Legend Overview
Black-capped Petrel Pterodroma hasitata Scientific name definitions
Version: 3.1 — Published February 2, 2024
Photos from this Account
Dark form Black-capped Petrel (subspecies hasitata).
Black-capped Petrel (subspecies hasitata).
Possible confusion species: Bermuda Petrel (Pterodroma cahow).
Bermuda Petrel shows a narrow ‘U’-shaped pale feathering on the upper tail formed by white edging on the uppertail coverts; Black-capped Petrel has entirely white uppertail coverts.
Possible confusion species: Bermuda Petrel (Pterodroma cahow).
Bermuda Petrel has a dark or black cap contiguous with dark gray back and nape, meeting on the side of the breast in a straight line before meeting the mantle.
Black-capped Petrel (subspecies hasitata).
Possible confusion species: Trindade Petrel (Pterodroma arminjoniana).
Trindade Petrel is generally much darker, especially on the head, neck, and uppertail.
Possible confusion species: Trindade Petrel (Pterodroma arminjoniana).
Trindade Petrel has dark axillaries and darker underwings.
Black-capped Petrel (subspecies hasitata).
Possible confusion species: Fea's Petrel (Pterodroma feae).
Fea's Petrel (subspecies feae) is much paler, and show extensive dark gray and black underwings.
Possible confusion species: Fea's Petrel (Pterodroma feae).
Fea's Petrel (subspecies deserta) has rump and tail pale gray.
Black-capped Petrel (subspecies hasitata).
Possible confusion species: Zino's Petrel (Pterodroma madeira).
Zino's Petrel is much paler, and show extensive dark gray and black underwings.
Possible confusion species: Zino's Petrel (Pterodroma madeira).
Zino's Petrel has rump and tail pale gray.
Black-capped Petrel (subspecies hasitata).
Possible confusion species: Great Shearwater (Ardenna gravis).
Great Shearwater is larger, darker, and less contrasting above, and has less white on the uppertail.
Possible confusion species: Great Shearwater (Ardenna gravis).
Great Shearwater lacks the black edge to its underwing.
Juvenile Black-capped Petrel, light form (subspecies hasitata).
In fresh plumage, Juveniles have uniformly neat paler tips to the upperwing coberts creating scaly appearance. Juvenile flight feathers are uniform in wear, narrower, more tapered, and pointed (outer primaries) or rounded (outer rectrices) at the tips than basic feathers, and lacking "molt clines", gradual freshening of feathers reflecting a previous complete sequential molt.
Juvenile Black-capped Petrel, light form (subspecies hasitata).
Note the uniformly fresh, pale-fringed back feathers creating evenly scaled appearance. The primaries are narrow and pointed at the tips, and lack molt clines.
Juvenile Black-capped Petrel, dark form (subspecies hasitata).
Even from a distance Juvniles have an evenly fresh look.
Formative Black-capped Petrel, dark form (subspecies hasitata).
Examination of Macaulay images indicates that a few scattered to many back feathers (at least) can be replaced well before replacement of primaries during the Second Prebasic Molt, perhaps primarily in December-April, indicating the presence of a Formative Plumage. Most of the feathering including flight feathers are juvenile and become worn at this time of year; formative back feathers are contrastingly fresher and grayer, with broad pale fringing that is usually worn off on juvenile feathers.
Formative Black-capped Petrel, dark form (subspecies hasitata).
Note the uniform juvenile flight feathers, with worn and pointed outer primaries and rounded outer rectrices. Many of the back feathers have been replaced, formative, fresher, grayer, and with pale fringed. Some crown feathers and perhaps those of the underparts may also be replaced but are less easy to detect.
Formative Black-capped Petrel, light form (subspecies hasitata).
Remiges are even in wear. Retained juvenile outer rectrices are narrow and rounded at the tips.
Definitive Basic Black-capped Petrel, dark form (subspecies hasitata).
Dark-form birds tend to show dark or black cheeks and auricular areas, forming a broad black mask that merges with the cap; more extensive dark cap extends farther down on the sides of the head; some dark feathers at the base of the mandible; any white in the face is limited to a white stripe above the lores; posterior auriculars mottled blackish or solidly blackish.
Definitive Basic Black-capped Petrel, dark form (subspecies hasitata).
Dark-form birds show darker plumage on the nape, reducing or covering the white hind-collar (the hind-neck often shows a grayish wash); larger and more obvious dark collar (chest “spurs”). Definitive Basic Plumage differ from Juvenile Plumage by having less evenly worn plumage due to protracted molts. Pale fringing to the back feathers is present to various degrees relative to plumage wear and does not form an evenly scaled appearance as in Juveniles. Note the "molt clines" reflecting a previous protracted prebasic molt: primaries fresher from p1 to p10, secondaries fresher from s1 to s4 and from s5 and the tertials toward s8-s9, and the outermost secondary (s1) is be noticeably fresher than the innermost primary (p1).
Definitive Basic Black-capped Petrel, dark form (subspecies hasitata).
Note the unevenly worn back feathers, with pale fringing present to varying degrees and not showing an evenly scaled appearance as shown by Juveniles.
Black-capped Petrel commencing Definitive Prebasic Molt, light form (subspecies hasitata).
Light-form birds have the black cap smaller and mostly restricted to the top of the head; the dark eye is highlighted by a broad white supercilium; black on the ear-coverts is limited.
Definitive Basic Black-capped Petrel, light form (subspecies hasitata).
Definitive Basic Plumage differs from those in Juvenile Plumage by having back feathers showing various degrees of wear, not form an evenly scaled appearance as in Juveniles. Flight feathers are broader and more truncate, the remiges showing "molt clines" from worn p1 to fresher p10, fresher clines from s1 to s4 and from s5 and the tertials toward s8-s9, and with the outermost secondary (s1) noticeably fresher than the innermost primary (p1).
Definitive Basic Black-capped Petrel, light form (subspecies hasitata).
Basic outer primaries are rectrices are broad and relatively fresh, the rectrices truncate at the tips.
Black-capped Petrel commencing Definitive Prebasic Molt, light form (subspecies hasitata).
Molt initiates with the inner primaries and proceeds distally. Here p1-p2 are new, p3-p5 are growing or dropped, and p6-p10 are unmolted basic feathers based on condition and width, indicating this to be the Definitive rather than the Second Prebasic Molt. Individuals in heavy molt can show white patches or a white wing stripe in the upperwing formed by the bases of secondaries when coverts are missing or growing.
Black-capped Petrel commencing Definitive Prebasic Molt, intermediate form (subspecies hasitata).
Note the prominent white wing stripe resulting from the greater coverts being dropped synchronously about the time p3-p5 are molting. The mixed levels of wear to broad basic back feathers and relatively fresh remiges indicates Definitive Prebasic as opposed to Secod Prebasic Molt. The timing of this molt suggests that this is a post-breeding adult
Black-capped Petrel completing Second Prebasic Molt, light form (subspecies hasitata).
Primary replacement has reached p9, with p10 and corresponding covert pointed and worn, indicating a juvenile feather and the Second Prebasic Molt. The outer rectrices, s4, and s10-s12, the last rectrices and secondaries replaced in sequence, are also unmolted juvenile feathers. The initiation of the Second Prebasic Molt averages earlier than the Definitive Prebasic Molt, due to lack of breeding constraints, but molt rate may also be slower resulting in completion at about the same time.
Adult Black-capped Petrel.
The bill is usually jet black and stout, with structure typical of Procellariidae in having tubinares at the base of the culmen and seven to nine distinct horny plates including the maxillary unguis that forms the hook at the tip of the upper mandible. The iris is dark brown, often appearing black in the field.
Black-capped Petrel.
Legs and feet are pink, the feet becoming black proximally. The bill is stout and black and the iris is dark brown, appearing blackish.
Adult Black-capped Petrel.
Legs and feet are pink, the feet becoming black proximally; variation exists in the proportion of pink/black in webs and digits
In the Atlantic, the core range is concentrated along the outer continental shelf offshore Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, United States.
Black-capped Petrel is scarce at Gulf of Mexico.
Black-capped Petrel foraging.
Black-capped Petrel and Sooty Shearwater (Ardenna grisea).
Bird landed on the ground attracted to light of the cell phone tower; Ouest, Haiti.
Macaulay Library Photos for Black-capped Petrel
Top-rated photos submitted to the Macaulay Library via eBird. Note: Our content editors have not confirmed the species identification for these photos.
