storm petrel

noun

variants or less commonly storm-petrel

ˈstȯrm-ˈpe-trəl 

-ˈpē-trəl

: any of various widespread small dark petrels (family Hydrobatidae) that typically return to land only to nest usually in burrows

called also Mother Carey's chicken

Illustration of storm petrel

Examples of storm petrel in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

And for birdwatchers in particular, the island plays host to all sorts of marvelous seabirds, inviting species like the European storm petrel, Barolo shearwater and Bulwer's petrel to hunt along its waters. —Jared Ranahan, Forbes, 25 Nov. 2024

Grandjean, an enthusiastic bird-watcher with the extravagant eyebrows of a rockhopper penguin, had fond memories of banding storm petrels in the Faroes in his late teens and was familiar with the grindadráp. —Kim Tingley, New York Times, 16 Aug. 2023

Nesting storm petrels, wood mice and a variety of moths also call the island home. —Margaret Osborne, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Feb. 2023

This is what might have happened with the New Zealand storm petrel. —Claire Bugos, Discover Magazine, 28 May 2021

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1833, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

storm petrel

noun

: any of various small dark petrels that usually return to land only to nest typically in burrows

called also Mother Carey's chicken