Submission No 223: Matsudaira’s Storm Petrel Oceanodroma matsudairae; 30 Miles NW of Dampier, W.A. 26 September 1968. Submitted by: Mike Carter.

Verdict: Accepted

A very old record referencing a bird found alive by Philip Brook aboard the HMAS Moresby 30 miles NW of Dampier which places the sighting at 200 S - 1160 E on 26 September 1968. However, according to Serventy et al. (1971) it is was at 190 25’S - 1160 06’E which is over 60 nautical miles further North. Either way, the record is well within Australian waters. The bird was photographed at night using artificial light. The transparencies were sent to the Bird Observers Club in Melbourne and then on to Mike Carter for safe keeping.

The submission provided to the committee (along with supportive photographs) describes an all dark storm petrel approximately 230-240mm long, with a wingspan of 500mm or more. The bird was identified as a Matsudaira’s Storm Petrel (then called Sooty Storm Petrel) on the basis of the prominent white shafts to the base of the outer primaries, large size and the substantial (long and broad) deeply forked tail.

Although the photographs were out of focus, the measurements (estimated from the photographs) prove this bird to be a particularly large species, falling within the known range of Matsudaira’s and consequently ruling out the similar Swinhoe’s Storm Petrel O. monorhis, which is smaller, with less extensive pale shafts to the base of the outer primaries. Given the age of the record, the description is limited and little supportive material is available to eliminate other ‘all-dark’ storm petrels particularly Markham’s Storm Petrel O. markhami and Tristram’s Storm Petrel O. tristrami. However, these species also lack the ‘prominent’ bases to the primary shafts and both have a distribution in the Western Pacific and consequently are most unlikely to occur in the Indian Ocean off North West Australia. The committee therefore resolved to accept this record as a Matsudaira’s Storm Petrel.

Although often considered likely to be a regular vagrant/visitor to NW Australia it is the first to be considered by the committee.

References and Bibliography

• Cubitt, M.G. 1995. Swinhoe’s Storm-petrels at Tynemouth: New to Britain and Ireland. British Birds 88: 342-390.
• Force, M. 1990. Comments on "The Chalice Petrel". British Birds 90: 339-342.
• Gantlett, S. 1988. Matsudaira’s Storm Petrel off Cornwall: A new British Bird. Birding World 1: 285.
• Young, S.A. & King, J.R. 1990. ‘The Chalice petrel’ revisited. British Birds 90: 329-335.
• S Marchant & P.J.Higgins 1990. Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds Vol 1 (part A). Oxford University Press. Oxford.
• Harrison P. 1987. Seabirds of The World: A Photographic Guide. Christopher Helm. Bromley.
• Serventy, D.L. et al. 1971. The Handbook of Australian Seabirds. A.H. & A. W. Reed. Sydney.
• Swash, A. 1988. Matsudaira’s and Swinhoe’s Storm Petrels. Birding World 1: 405.

Tony Palliser
Chairman Birds Australia Rarities Committee (BARC)