Homing Experiment with Leach's Storm-Petrels

Abstract

Leach's Storm-Petrels (Oceanodroma leucorhoas) how high rates of return to their nest sites after being experimentally released at various distances from the breeding colony (Griffin 1940, Billings 1968). Homing at speeds of up to 350 km/day and navigating distances of up to 4,800 km across unfamiliar territory, many birds actually gain mass along the way (Billings 1968). In some cases storm-petrels, w hich are almost never sighted over land, apparently cross land to avoid much longer all-water routes (Billings 1968). Inspired by Griffin's research at the Bowdoin ScientificS tation, Kent Island, New Brunswick (44°35'N, 66°45'W), Billings tested the hypothesis of overland navigation by transporting15 storm-petrels to the coastal town of Stephenville, Newfoundland (48°33'N, 58°36'W), which is separated from Kent Island by two major land barriers, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia. Billings reported return speeds nearly double those of Griffin in several different homing experiments. Given the discrepancy between their results and the fact that experiments in ecology are too rarely repeated and independently corroborated by different investigators, we report the results of a replication of Billings' Stephenville homing experiment.