| Bermuda Petrel |
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Information AboutBermuda Petrel |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT BERMUDA PETREL | |
| pterodroma | |
| natural history of bermuda | |
| birds of bermuda | |
| birds of the united states | |
The Bermuda Petrel ''Pterodroma cahow'' is a Petrel . Commonly known in Bermuda as the cahow, this seabird nests in burrows in the rocky outlying islands that remian free of cats and rats. Initially common throughout the islands, introduced species and mass killings of the birds by early colonists decimated numbers. This was mainly due to the low number of chicks being raised, and the easy harvesting of the birds by men, especially at night. Believed to have been driven to extinction, 18 surviving birds were found in 1951 on islets in Castle Harbor , and a program has been set up to build concrete burrows for the nesting sites in order to help facilitate breeding. Enjoing legal protection, the main threats to this species are rats and the lack of suitable breeding habitat. With the former under control and the latter being improved, the species has started to make a good recovery, and larger Nonsuch Island is being repopulated with surplus individuals, as the Hurricane Fabian destroyed many nesting burrows in 2003 . Nonetheless, the global population of this bird in 2005 was only about 250 individuals. EXTERNAL LINKS
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