Illustration of storm petrel
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
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
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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
See all Example Sentences for storm petrel
Dictionary Entries Near storm petrel
Cite this Entry
“Storm petrel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/storm%20petrel. Accessed 10 Feb. 2025.
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