petrel

[pe-truhl]

noun

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

petrel

/ 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of petrel¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of petrel¹

C17: variant of earlier pitteral, associated by folk etymology with St Peter, because the bird appears to walk on water

Example Sentences

"Skuas winter around South America as do giant petrels and we think these birds are the vector that bought the disease into South Georgia," said Dr Ratcliffe.

Read more on BBC

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

Read more on BBC

With no terrestrial predators to steal their eggs, these islands are breeding sanctuaries for ground- and cliff-nesting seabirds like the western gull, Scripps’s murrelet and the ashy storm petrel.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

But shearwaters, as well as petrels and albatrosses, are part of a class known as tube-nosed seabirds, with tubular nostrils and an excellent senses of smell.

Read more on Scientific American

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.

Read more on Seattle Times