Uniformly dark brown with a wingspan of 45cm, Swinhoe's is slightly 
larger than Wilson's but is slimmer with longer thinner wings and a 
longer tail. It is one of the smallest 'dark rumps' to occur. It has a pale 
covert bar across the upperwing which is less pronounced than on most 
other 'dark rumps' . (It is noted that birds that have been caught have pale 
bases to the primaries but these are not apparent in the field, although 
from photographs the North Atlantic birds do seem to have a more 
prominent forewing patch). 
After thoroughly soaking up the literature I felt that this bird could not 
be identified to species level beyond doubt. It is likely that the bird was 
either a Matsudaira's or Swinhoe's Petrel. The size of the bird points 
towards Matsudaira's whereas the lack of pale base to the primaries 
points towards Swinhoe's Petrel (although Swinhoe's can sometimes 
show this feature). There are very few records of either species from 
Arabian waters and this may well be the first documented sighting for 
the area. The prospect of future records of Swinhoe's, Matsudaira's and 
the other species must surely be possible for any pelagic minded 
ornithologist lucky enough to find himself in the rich waters of the North 
Indian Ocean or Arabian Sea in the northern summer. 
References 
Bailey, Pocklington and Willis (1968) Storm petrels in the Indian Ocean Ibis 110: 
27-34. 
Bourne, Dr W R P (1991) Dark rumped storm petrels in the North Atlantic sea 
shallow 40:63. 
Harrison, P (1983) Seabirds an identification guide Croom Helm. 
Harrison, P (1987) A Field Guide to Seabirds of the World The Stephen Greene press 
(Christoper Helm). 
A P Benson, Wellhouse, Oldturnpike Road, Roughton, Norfolk, UK. 
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