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Kōrero: Petrels

Diving petrels and white-faced storm petrel

Image
Diving petrels and white-faced storm petrel

Diving petrels (pictured in the water while a white-faced storm petrel hovers above) are chunky little birds. Their wings, too short for gliding, beat so fast they are a blur. Flying amongst wave-tops, diving petrels continue into a wave and come out the other side at the same speed, still flying. To feed, they dive underwater, then swim about using their wings.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: A-374-090

by Elaine Power

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Kerry-Jayne Wilson, Petrels – Prions, gadfly, storm and diving petrels, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/artwork/8594/diving-petrels-and-white-faced-storm-petrel (accessed 4 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Kerry-Jayne Wilson, i tāngia i te 2 March 2009.