Storm petrel Hydrobates pelagicus found breeding at Ta' Cenc, Gozo

Abstract

The Storm Petrel Hydrobates pelagicus breeds in large numbers in the boulder and rubble slopes of Filfla (Sultana & Gauci 1982). It has never been recorded breeding elsewhere in the Maltese Islands, although in the 18th century, the historian Canon Agius de Soldanis recounted that he found a 'strange bird' (probably the Storm Petrel) breeding in a cave between Xlendi and Ta' Cenc cliffs in Gozo. De Soldan is wrote that small seabirds can be found in a cave called Ghar Ilma, where they spend the day in crags, waiting for nightfall to fly out to sea in search of food. He mentions that a foul smell lingers where the birds are found. Fishermen assured him that these birds are not found in any other cave in Gozo or Malta. He wrote that he saw these birds both on the nest and in the hand. In size they were similar to a Song Thrush, with a black bill resembling that of a young pigeon, more or less reddish near the eyes, and with webbed feet.