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Small black-and-white storm petrel.
VIC: Vulnerable
Indigenous: Broad-Nailed Storm-Petrel, Vieillot Storm-Petrel
At a glance
FamilySouthern Storm-Petrels
SizeSmall
RarityUncommon
HabitatCoastlines, harbours, offshore waters, estuaries, headlands, beaches, and large inland water when conditions suit.
Best timeMost reliable in New South Wales from March.
Range map
Range map
68visible hotspots
246visible records
1states
SparseModerateDense hotspot
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
Note distinctive sooty black upperparts and white belly and rump. Breeds across the South Pacific, South Atlantic, and South Indian Oceans, migrating north into tropics after breeding. Distinguished from other storm-petrels by shorter legs that extend to the end of or just beyond the tail in flight, as well as by lacking the smudgy black stripe that cuts down the belly of the Black-bellied Storm-Petrel.
Behavior
Can be seen pattering its feet on the surface of the water when feeding for small squid and crustaceans on the surface.
Gallery