Locally common off coasts of eastern Australia. Rare elsewhere.
Habitat
Marine, pelagic, in sub-tropical and tropical south-west and central Pacific Ocean, moving to the northern central Pacific in the non-breeding season.
Australia (B), French Polynesia, Marshall Islands (NB), New Caledonia, New Zealand (B), Norfolk Island, Northern Mariana Islands (NB), United States Minor Outlying Islands (NB), USA.
Breeds at various islands in the south-western Pacific, including Norfolk and Lord Howe Islands. Rare but regular visitor to seas off eastern Australia.
Voice
High-pitched 'wi-wi-wi-wi' uttered on the ground and in flight, 'ha-ha-ha' uttered from the ground and from within nesting burrows. Usually silent at sea.
Subspecies
Said to interbreed with Chatham Petrel (Pterodroma axillaris) forming a superspecies.
No subspecies.
Similar Species
Chatham Petrel (Pterodroma axillaris) which is identical in size and shape but has a diagonal bar on the underwing which extends inward from the carpal joint to merge with the diagnostic black wing-pit, forming a solid dark stripe.
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