Latin for "stilts") and a distinguishing characteristic is that the toes do not usually project beyond the tail. Plumage variation between sexes and between adults and juveniles has not been observed. It is thought to be customarily silent at sea and vocal when on the nest on land. The voice has been described as "soft high-pitched twittering calls, such as pee-pee-pee-pee repeated up to 20 times." Distribution and habitat The white-bellied storm petrel has a widespread range throughout the oceans of the Southern Hemisphere including the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans, although little detail is known of its pelagic distribution. Sources describe the white-bellied storm petrel as both nonmigratory and fully migrant reflecting perhaps how little is known or understood of this elusive sea bird. It is thought to migrate some distance north, but its movements at sea are not known. Maximum dispersal has been estimated at several thousand km. Behaviour The white-bellied storm petrel is highly pelagic, rare and not commonly observed. As a result, there is limited knowledge of its behaviour and ecology. Visits to land are uncommon and occur near breeding colonies. It is nocturnal when ashore. Flight tends to be low gliding with pattering and dipping to feed, stepping off the water's surface with their legs, an asymmetrical gait having been observed. It has been known to feed with other seabirds and to follow ships. Breeding Breeding colonies have been identified in the Lord Howe Island group (Roach Island, Ball's Pyramid, Muttonbird Island and possibly Blackburn Island), although they are extinct on the main island of Lord Howe itself (Australia'); on Macauley and Curtis Islands in the Kermadec Islands (New Zealand') ; the Austral Islands (French Polynesia) and Juan Fernández and Desventuradas Islands ('Chile) in the Pacific Ocean; Tristan da Cunha and Gough Island (St Helena to UK') in the Atlantic Ocean; and Île Saint-Paul (French Southern Territories) in the Indian Ocean. Breeding sites occur on offshore islands and rocky outcrops in dispersed colonies with grass-lined nests built in crevices and burrows. Breeding occurs in late summer and early autumn, with egg laying between January and March, and fledgling chicks seen from mid-April to May. The average clutch is a single white egg with light red, brown, or pink specks. Young are fed by both parents, which spend the day at sea and return to the nest at night. Little is known of the life and