Southern Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialoides)

Other Names (World)
Southern Fulmar, Antarctic Fulmar, Slender-billed Flumar, Silver-grey Petrel, Silver-gray Petrel, Silver-grey Fulmar, Silver-gray Fulmar

Family
Procellariidae (Petrels, Shearwaters)

Size
40 - 50 cm
Wingspan: 100 cm

First Described (Guide)
(Smith, 1840)

Derivation
Ful-mar'-us - Norse, full, foul; mar, mew (gull): gläc'-ia-löi'-des - L., glacialis (ice-loving), name of another species of Fulmar; -oides, from Gk eidos, form = like

Abundance (Guide)
UC

Uncommon, irregular summer visitor to off-shore waters of southern Australia, northern to south-eastern Queenslands and Jurien Bay, WA (June - January).

Habitat
Circumpolar in Antarctic and sub-Antarctic waters, in open water and pack-ice. In winter, pelagic in southern seas, reaching sub-tropical and occasionally tropical waters.

Range (Guide)

Angola, Antarctica (B), Argentina, Australia, Bouvet Island (B), Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), Namibia, New Zealand, Peru, South Africa, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (B), St Helena, Uruguay (NB).

Antarctica and outlying islands, including Scotia Archepelago and north to Bouvet�ya.

Breeds in Antarctica and at various sub-Antarctic islands. Vagrant to seas off southern Australia.

Rarity Status
View Rarity Status Information

Population
Estimated population is 4,000,000 (2010).

Status LC
Secure.

For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Food
Mainly shrimps and other crustaceans.

Voice
Loud, guttural cackle, like, 'aark-ag-ag-ag-ag ... arrr' in threat, with much variation and changing intensity. Soft droning or guttural croaking in courtship.

(48Kb) © ? (1)

Xeno-Canto Sound Files

Southern Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialoides) [XC20681]
by id from Balleny Is, Antarctica, Argentina (song)

Breeding Season (Guide)
Does not breed in Australia. Breeds mostly on coasts of Antarctica and sub-Antarctic Islands (November - December).

Nest
Simple scrape on flat rocks or gravel, usually lined with stones or gravel, on ledges of cliffs. In colonies.

Eggs (Guide)
1; chalky white; ellipsoidal; about 74 x 50 mm. Incubation: about 44 days; both sexes, in shifts. No replacement laying.

Young
Semi-altricial, nidicolous. Fledge in 180 - 240 days.

Subspecies
Forms superspecies with Northern Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis).

No subspecies.

Similar Species
White-headed Petrel (Pterodroma lessonii), which has a darker bill and a dark pattern on the upperwing.

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References
See References.

The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9

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