The petrel is a small gray seabird with an outsized life: it rides storms, sleeps mid-flight, and crosses oceans on instinct. Here are twelve reasons we named a travel app after it.
Named for a saint who walked on waterStorm petrels patter their tiny feet across the surface as they feed, like they are walking on the sea. The name "petrel" most likely honors St. Peter, who did the same in the famous story.
The original flight alertSailors treated petrels as storm warnings. When the birds appeared close around a ship, rough weather was on its way, and crews took the hint.
Ocean crossings with no mapPetrels cross entire oceans and then return to the same burrow on the same shore, year after year. No map, no landmarks, no wrong turns.
Years at sea without touching landA young petrel can leave the nest and stay out over the ocean for years before its feet touch land again.
They sleep on the wingPetrels can rest while flying over open water, far from any perch. Sleep happens between wingbeats.
They drink seawaterA special tube on the beak filters salt out of seawater and excretes it, which is why petrels and their relatives are called tubenoses. Built-in desalination, no plumbing required.
Smallest seabirds, biggest oceansStorm petrels are among the smallest seabirds on earth, and they spend their lives crossing the biggest oceans anyway.
Millions of miles in one lifetimeOver a lifetime, some petrels and their shearwater cousins rack up millions of miles of flight. Frequent flyer status: permanent.
Named after the storm itselfTheir scientific order, Procellariiformes, comes from the Latin procella, a violent gale. The whole family is literally named for the weather it rides.
From sparrow-sized to 2-meter wingspansPetrels range from storm petrels not much bigger than a sparrow to giant petrels with wingspans around two meters, over six feet tip to tip.
Decades of homecomingsMany petrels live 30 years or more, and most of those years end the same way: back at the same nesting site they have always known.
Home by pure instinctA petrel finds its way home across thousands of miles of open, featureless water on instinct alone. The way home is simply in the bird.
A creature that crosses the world and always finds its way home is a pretty good mascot for a trip that plans itself. That is the whole idea behind Petrel: forward your booking confirmations and the itinerary finds its own way, day by day, with flights, stays, and reservations in order. Read the full story on the Why Petrel page.
Make this trip plan yours
Forward your real booking confirmations to Petrel and it builds this exact day-by-day view for you: flights, hotels, reservations, live flight status, and the travel time between stops. Under a minute.
Start your free tripFirst trip free. No account, no credit card.