Although numbers have declined on some islands where rats and feral cats have been introduced , the world population is estimated at 12 million birds.
Not listed
Indigenous: Medium-Billed Prion
At a glance
FamilyShearwaters and Petrels
SizeSmall
RarityUncommon
HabitatThe breeding distribution of the Salvin's prion is restricted to Crozet Islands and Prince Edward Island .
Best timeMost reliable in Victoria from May.
Range map
Range map
30visible hotspots
69visible records
2states
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
Behavior
Note the dark blue “thumb mark” collar, the blue eye-stripe, the white eyebrow, the white throat, and the grayish cap.
Gallery
Regional timing
Queensland
Victoria
New South Wales
South Australia
Commonly confused with
Slender-billed PrionPachyptila belcheriA medium-sized prion. The dark “M” across the back is found in all the prion species, but is noticeably less pronounced on the Slender-billed Prion. Breeds on islands in the southern Indian Ocean, the Falklands, and around subantarctic South America while ranging throughout southern oceans during the nonbreeding season. Very difficult to distinguish from other prion species at sea, but distinguishable with careful observation of all described features.→Antarctic PrionPachyptila desolataCompare this bird carefully in the field→Southern Giant-PetrelMacronectes giganteusVery large (size of smaller albatross) with a very big pale bill that always has a diagnostic pale greenish tip. Plumage varies; most birds are dark overall or with whitish head, rarely whitish head and underparts; scarce white morph is snow-white overall with scattered black feathers.→