Northern storm petrels | Hydrobatidae

Noordelijke stormvogeltjes | Paíños del norte | Northern storm petrels

Just as small, but with longer, narrower and more sharply pointed wings and short legs that do not reach past the tail, giving an erratic, bat-like flight in which beats and glides alternate. They take food while hovering or in passing rather than pattering steadily on the surface. This guide covers seven species of the genus Hydrobates, mainly over the Humboldt Current and around the Galápagos; some species breed in cavities in the salt crusts of the coastal desert, far from the sea. At night, from the nest chamber and over the colony, they give churring and chattering series of notes; the birds themselves smell strongly musky, and the scent lingers about the nest.