petrel

American  

[pe-truhl] / ˈpɛ trəl /

noun

1. any of numerous tube-nosed seabirds of the families Procellariidae, Hydrobatidae, and Pelecanoididae.

---

petrel British  

/ ˈpɛtrəl /

noun

1. any oceanic bird of the order Procellariiformes, having a hooked bill and tubular nostrils: includes albatrosses, storm petrels, and shearwaters See also storm petrel

---

Etymology

Origin of petrel

1670–80; earlier pitteral, of uncertain origin; perhaps altered by association with St. Peter (who attempted to walk on the water of Lake Gennesareth), alluding to the bird's habit of flying close to the ocean surface

Example Sentences

In one critically endangered petrel species that nests in burrows - the MacGillivray's prion - not a single chick survived.

From BBC • Apr. 27, 2023

Red soil and lava rocks dominate the high-altitude landscape, which is also home to endangered and threatened species like the nene, the Hawaiian goose, and the Hawaiian petrel, an endangered seabird.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 7, 2023

The team also resighted a Leach's storm petrel banded there 31 years ago.

From Salon • Jan. 7, 2022

When the mice population drops, as it does seasonally, the owls then eat the eggs of the ashy storm petrel, a bird some consider a future candidate for the endangered species list.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 15, 2021

Overhead a lone petrel circled, watching the scene.

From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong