Antarctic Prion — Australian Bird Identification Guide

Bird guideAntarctic Prion

⚠️Not listed

🍃Indigenous: Whiroia, Banks' Prion, Whale-Bird, Banks' Dove Petrel, Dove Prion, Dove-Like Petrel, Banks' Petrel, Blue Dove Petrel, Snow-Bird, Dove Petrel

At a glance

FamilyShearwaters and Petrels

SizeSmall

RarityUncommon

HabitatBreeding The Antarctic prion nests in colonies, and prefers islands in the Southern Ocean.

Best timeMost reliable in Tasmania from December.

Sounds

Sound sample

0:000:00

Recorded by Hichem MACHOUK

Range map

Occurrence window

128approx hotspots

6854approx records

0states

Low confidenceMediumHigh confidence

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

Regular visitor to New Zealand and Southern Australia during the austral winter. Very similar to other prion species, especially Salvin’s prion, with the Antarctic prion having a slightly brighter blue bill with straighter sides and a larger nail at the tip.

Behavior

They breed on Antarctic and subantarctic islands in the South Indian, Southern and South Atlantic Oceans and are widespread and abundant at sea around these areas.

Gallery