Westland Petrel — Australian Bird Identification Guide | BetterBirding

Bird guideWestland Petrel

Rather large, wholly dark petrel.

Spot this species Read on Wikipedia

⚠️Not listed

🍃Indigenous: Westland Black Petrel

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 April.

Sounds

Sound sample

0:000:00

Recorded by David Boyle

Range map

Range map

Occurrence window

41approx hotspots

598approx 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

Overview

Often found with much commoner, but very similar White-chinned Petrel and is not easily identified unless distinct black bill tip of Westland can be seen (White-chinned has pale bill tip). Slightly smaller Parkinson’s Petrel looks very similar to Westland, but favors warmer tropical and subtropical waters and has a smaller, more rounded head and slightly slimmer bill.

Behavior

Forages widely across temperate ocean waters and returns at night to forested breeding burrows.

Gallery

Regional timing

Tasmania

Peak: May8 records

New South Wales

Peak: January22 records

South Australia

Peak: November1 records

Victoria

Peak: April36 records

Queensland

Peak: May1 records

Commonly confused with

Gray PetrelProcellaria cinereaUnderwing is dark and unmarked. Bill is pale yellowish with dark contours. Simple bicolored coloration separates this species from other petrels, and chunky proportions and stubby-billed profile distinguish it from similar-looking shearwaters.→White-headed PetrelPterodroma lessoniiBack is pale gray with darker outer wings, creating an “M” shape on the back. Look for stout black bill and pinkish-colored feet. Breed on Antipodes and Auckland Islands in the New Zealand region and also on subantarctic Indian Ocean and Macquarie Islands. Three similar species: Soft-plumaged Petrel is smaller with gray-brown head and band on upper breast; Gray Petrel is larger with a smaller, darker head, a pale green bill, and a long neck; and pale morph Kermadec Petrel is smaller, lacks an eye patch, has darker upperparts, and shows white patches under the wing.→Soft-plumaged PetrelPterodroma mollisNote the heavy dark bill. In flight, exhibits gray underwings and gray and dark brown M-pattern on the back. The rare dark morph has dark underparts, but still retains the distinctive complete breast band, which is the most useful mark separating this species from Fea’s and Zino’s Petrels.→