Bird guideSlender-billed Prion

Slender-billed Prion has a very pale face, prominent white eyebrow, and very narrow black tip to the upper tail.

⚠️Not listed
🍃Indigenous: Narrow-Billed Prion, Thin-Billed Prion

At a glance

FamilyShearwaters and Petrels
SizeSmall
RarityUncommon
HabitatPelagic; mostly offshore and over open ocean, occasionally seen from coastal headlands during passage.
Best timeMost reliable in Victoria from June.

Sounds

Sound sample
0:000:00
Recorded by Kevin Guille

Range map

Range map

87visible hotspots
309visible records
5states
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

A 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.

Behavior

As suggested by its name, the Slender-billed Prion has the thinnest and least robust bill of the prion species.

Regional timing

Victoria
Peak: June139 records
Tasmania
Peak: December32 records
Queensland
Peak: June to August27 records
South Australia
Peak: May to June7 records
New South Wales
Peak: June44 records
Western Australia
Peak: July6 records
Northern Territory
Peak: July1 records

Commonly confused with

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