The Storm-petrels

Imagine a bird as small as a sparrow, which lives most of its life on the open ocean yet can survive for decades. It walks on water, and migrates half way around the world, returning to remote islands to breed underground, often in the same rock crevice each year. At night it lays an enormous egg, feeding its chick until the nestling weighs more than both parents put together. It seems to have little fear of humans, but was itself feared by ancient seafarers.

This might sound like the stuff of legend but is actually the description of a real creature, the storm-petrel: walker on water, global wanderer, climate sentinel and open-ocean survivor.

In this beautifully written monograph, Rob Thomas explores the remarkable life of the European Storm-petrel, comparing and contrasting its behaviour and ecology across its range, and with the other storm-petrels of the world. We learn about their evolution, taxonomy, migration and adaptations to a life in the harsh open ocean, while also discovering what these enigmatic seabirds are revealing about what humans are doing to our planet.

Illustrated with 150 photographs, and including the author’s personal anecdotes and observations, Storm-petrels highlights some of the most exciting recent research findings and sets a trajectory for future discoveries.