page_title: Black petrel
section_title: Breeding
hierarchical_section_title: Black petrel / Behaviour / Breeding
caption_attribution_description: English: Black Petrel (Procellaria parkinsoni) is also known as Parkinson's Petrel.
context_page_description: The black petrel, also called the Parkinson's petrel, is a medium-sized, black-plumaged petrel, the smallest of the Procellaria. The species is an endemic breeder of New Zealand, breeding only on Great Barrier Island and Little Barrier Island, off the North Island. At sea it disperses as far as Australia and Ecuador.
context_section_description: Breeding takes place from October to June in the Hauraki Gulf. Adults return to the colony in mid-October to clean burrows, pair and mate with the same partner (Imber 1987). Males will return to the same burrow every year and try to attract another female if their mate does not return or if there is a “divorce” (about 12% annually) (Bell et al. 2011). Pairs then depart on “honeymoon”, returning to the colony again in late November when the females lay a single egg (Imber 1987). Both birds share incubation of the egg for 57 days (about 8 weeks) (Imber 1987). Eggs can hatch from late January through February (Imber 1987). Chicks fledge after 107 days (15 weeks) from mid-April through to late June (Imber 1987) - about 75% of chicks survive to fledge (Bell et al. 2011).  In 2011 breeding success fell to 61%  (Bell, unpublished data) for unknown reasons. Adults and chicks migrate to South America for winter (to waters off the Ecuador coast) (Imber 1987, Bell et al. In press B) – only 10% of fledged chicks survive this first year. Juveniles will remain at sea in the West Pacific for 3–4 years until they are ready to breed – survival rate is 46% during this time vs 90% for birds over 3 years old  (Bell et al. 2011). At about 4 years old, pre-breeding birds will fly back to the colony to find a mate – this may take 1-2 seasons (Bell et al. 2011)
caption: Off Wollongong, Australia
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