Regular, fairly common winter - spring visitor to off-shore waters of southern Australia, north to about Carnarvon, WA and south-eastern Queendland (April - November).
Habitat
Circumpolar in Antarctic and sub-Antarctic seas, avoiding pack-ice. In summer range contracts towards the breeding sites.
Angola, Antarctica (B), Argentina, Australia, Bouvet Island (B), Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), French Southern Territories (B), Heard Island and McDonald Islands (B), Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, New Zealand (B), Peru, Réunion, South Africa, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (B), St Helena, Uruguay (NB).
Vagrant to Cook Islands, Fiji, France, French Polynesia, Gabon, Gibraltar, Indonesia, Italy, Kenya, Norway (B), Seychelles, Timor-Leste.
Breeds in Antarctica and at various sub-Antarctic islands, including Macquarie and Heard islands. Common off the southern and eastern coasts of Australia, north to about Geraldton, WA in the west and Fraser Island, Qld in the east.
Rarity Status
Currently this species is not classified as a rarity in this country OR information has not been updated.
Population
Estimated population is 2,000,000 (2010).
Cape Petrel (Daption capense) [XC46797]
by Pritam Baruah from South Bay, approx 7 km S, near Kaikoura, South Island, New Zealand (call)
Cape Petrel (Daption capense) [XC835688]
by id from The Forty Fours, Chatham Islands, New Zealand (song)
Breeding Season (Guide)
Does not breed in Australia. Breeds mostly on coasts of Antarctica and sub-Antarctic Islands (September - April but usually November - January).
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Nest
A slight structure, composed of a few small stones and a little earth, on a ledge of a cliff. In colonies.
Eggs (Guide)
1; white; rounded-oval; about 63 x 43 mm. Incubation: 41 - 50 days; by both sexes. Two eggs indicate two females have contributed to the clutch.
Young
Semi-altricial, nidicolous. Fledge in about 210 days. Tended by both parents.
Subspecies
The following 2 subspecies are recognised:
capense (Linnaeus, 1758) - Antarctica and islands of subantarctic from South Georgia east to Heard I.
australe Mathews, 1913 - New Zealand area.
Similar Species
Antarctic Petrel (Thalassoica antarctica), which is larger, has browner back, wings and rump, and has a simpler pattern, without chequering.
Compare Images
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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BirdLife International Species Factsheet