Biology

Barau's petrels are migratory birds, leaving the waters around Réunion between April and June, and heading for the open Indian Ocean, where they spend the winter. Here, they are often seen feeding in large flocks with many other sea birds. They feed on small, schooling fish, seizing them from the surface or plunging into the water to snatch their prey (3). In September, the petrels return to Réunion Island, and in November, females lay a single egg in a nesting burrow high up on the remote mountain cliffs, which hatches between the end of December and the beginning of January (3).