Ringed Storm-Petrel Oceanodroma hornbyi

Ringed, or Hornby’s, Storm-Petrel is endemic to the Humboldt Current zone. The location of its breeding colonies long was among the most confounding of mysteries of South American seabirds. Juveniles had been found well inland in the lights of mines and other inhabited areas of the Peruvian and Chilean desert, and so it was suspected that this seabird might nest well inland, not unlike Gray Gull (Leucophaeus modestus). This was confirmed only in 2017, however, when a colony was discovered breeding in natural cavities in stark desert in Atacama, 70 km from the coast. Offshore this storm-petrel is found farther out, in deeper water, than other sympatric storm-petrels, making it more difficult to find than its relatives. Ringed Storm-Petrel also is one of the most boldly marked and distinctive small seabirds in the world, having white underparts, a dark breast band, gray upperparts and a dark hood.