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

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.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 6, 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

In Hawaii, for example, the endangered Hawaiian petrel is being moved to a protected haven in the Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge.

From Slate • Apr. 29, 2021

Overhead, terns and Cape pigeons wheeled, and a giant snow petrel flew on snow-white wings; the birds were a sure sign that open water was near.

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