Northern storm petrel

Northern storm petrels are small seabirds in the family Hydrobatidae, distinguished from southern storm petrels in Oceanitidae by their evolutionary lineage and anatomy.

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Hydrobatidae: A family of small, ocean-dwelling seabirds known as northern storm petrels. This family is the taxonomic group that defines northern storm petrels.
Surface feeding: A feeding method in which animals take food from or just below the water's surface. Storm petrels commonly seize small prey while moving over the ocean surface.
European storm petrel: A small, dark storm petrel with a white rump that breeds on Atlantic islands and coasts. It is a familiar northern storm petrel of the eastern Atlantic.
Avian phylogenetics: The study of evolutionary relationships among birds using anatomical and genetic evidence. Phylogenetic analyses underpin the separation of northern and southern storm petrels.
Oceanitidae: A family of seabirds known as southern storm petrels, separate from Hydrobatidae. Its species were once grouped with northern storm petrels but belong to a distinct family.
Pattering: A seabird foraging behavior in which rapid foot movements help maintain position on the water. Many storm petrels patter across the surface while picking up prey.
Leach's storm petrel: A small North Atlantic storm petrel that nests in burrows and has a forked tail. Its burrow-nesting colonies illustrate the group's remote island breeding strategy.
Molecular phylogenetics: The reconstruction of evolutionary relationships using DNA or protein sequence data. Molecular evidence helped clarify relationships within the traditional storm petrel grouping.
Procellariiformes: An order of seabirds that includes albatrosses, petrels, shearwaters, and storm petrels. Northern storm petrels belong to this broader order of tube-nosed seabirds.
Dynamic soaring: A flight technique that extracts energy from differences in wind speed above the ocean. It helps storm petrels travel efficiently over windy seas.