They are also highly nocturnal when coming to land to avoid depredation by large gulls. Like other Procellariiformes, storm-petrels are long-lived for being small birds some individuals have lived for over thirty years. It only breeds on islands off the California and Baja California coasts, and has strongly declined in numbers because of pollution. The Ashy Storm-Petrel is the only endangered North American storm-petrel species.

Flight patterns differ by species some pattering the surface of the water with their feet, others flying in zig-zags and other species with rapid, almost bat-like wing-beats. Storm-Petrels nest in colonies and often forage in flocks that fly low over the water to pick small sea creatures and carrion off the surface. Usually, they are only encountered well offshore although the Least and Black Storm-Petrels can sometimes be seen from land.Д®xcept for the non-migratory Ashy Storm-Petrel, storm-petrels are very long distance migrants. Storm-Petrels are birds that only occur in salt-water habitats and can be found off both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of North America. Some species also show a bit of gray in the wings, and white at the base of the tail. North American members of this family have dark, sooty brown or black plumages. The bills of storm-petrels are small with a slightly hooked tip and tube-like nasal structures to expel excess salt. Their legs are fairly long with webbed feet, and they have rounded pigeon-like heads. Storm-petrels are small birds with long wings and medium to long tails that can be forked, square, or wedge-like in shape. Storm-petrels in general are known for being birds of the marine environment that only come to shore to breed. Thirteen species of storm-petrels in five genera have occurred in North American waters (including the extinct Guadalupe Storm-Petrel).

In the Hydrobatidae (pronounced heye-droh-BAH-tih-dee) are included twenty species of storm-petrels in seven genera found throughout the oceans of the world. A taxonomic order of tube-nosed seabirds, the PROCELLARIIFORMES (pronounced pro-sel-lehr-EYE-ih-FOR-meez) includes large, long-winged families such as the shearwaters and albatrosses, and the much smaller storm-petrels.

Band rumped storm petrel