Rather small, attractively patterned petrel of cold subantarctic waters; not seen from mainland.
At a glance
Sounds
Range map
Range map
Aggregated occurance data is sourced from 14 different actively-updating datasets including eBird Australia, iNaturalist Australia, BirdLife Australia, and multiple state-based bird surveys through Atlas of Living Australia.
Species notes
Overview
Sometimes accompanies ships, especially near breeding islands and with groups of similar-sized and superficially similar prions. Blue Petrel told from all prion species by dark cap, half collar, and bold white tail tip. Also note differences in flight pattern; often a bit stronger and banks higher in strong winds.
Behavior
It is distributed across the Southern Ocean but breeds at a few island sites, all close to the Antarctic Convergence zone. First, it has nasal passages that attach to the upper bill called naricorns . Finally, it also has a salt gland that is situated above the nasal passage and helps desalinate its body, due to the high amount of ocean water it drinks.
Gallery