Antarctic Giant-Petrel (Macronectes giganteus)

Other Names (World)
Southern Giant Petrel, Antarctic Giant-Petrel, Southern Giant-Petrel, Giant Fulmar, Mother Carey's Goose, Sea Goose, Nelly, Stinker, Stinkpot, Glutton, Mollymawk, Bone-shaker, Vulture-of-the-seas

Family
Procellariidae (Petrels, Shearwaters)

Size
80 - 100 cm
Wingspan: 180 - 210 cm

First Described (Guide)
(Gmelin, 1789)

Derivation
Mac-ro-nëc'-tes - Gk, macros, large; Gk, nectes, swimmer: gi'-gan-të'-us - L., giant

Habitat
Marine, Antarctic to sub-tropical waters.

Range (Guide)

Antarctica (B), Argentina (B), Atlantic (Antarctic) (B) (NB), Australia (B), Bouvet Island (E) (B), Brazil (NB), Chile (B), Eastern Indian Ocean (NB), Falkland Islands (Malvinas) (B), French Southern Territories (B), Heard Island and McDonald Islands (B), Indian Ocean (Antarctic) (B) (NB), Madagascar (NB), Mozambique (NB), Namibia (NB), New Zealand (NB), Norfolk Island (NB), Pacific (Antarctic) (NB), Peru, South Africa (B), South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (B), Southeast Atlantic (B) (NB), Southeast Pacific (B) (NB), Southwest Atlantic (B) (NB), Southwest Pacific (B) (NB), St Helena (B), Uruguay (NB), Western Central Pacific (NB), Western Indian Ocean (NB).

Vagrant to French Polynesia, R�union, Seychelles.

Population
Estimated population is 97,000 (2010) and decreasing.

Status LC
For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Food
Fish, squid and other marine life. At breeding times eggs, chicks, dead seabirds and carrion.

Voice
Deep, guttural, rather raucous whinny 'hu-hu-hu-hu', in threat. Cat-like mewings in display. Chick pipe, gulp, rasp and squawk.

Listen to call of Antarctic Giant-Petrel

(37Kb) © ? (1)

Xeno-Canto Sound Files

Southern Giant Petrel (Macronectes giganteus) [XC89727]
by id from Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina (call)

Nest
A hollow, cone-shaped structure, composed of earth and guano, on the ground. In small colonies often in exposed, windy, sites.

Eggs (Guide)
1; chalky white; ellipsoidal; about 104 x 66 mm. Incubation: about 60 days; by both sexes. Usually no replacement laying. Two eggs indicate two females have contributed to the clutch.

Young
Fledge in 105 - 108 days.

Subspecies
No subspecies.

Similar Species
Northern Giant Petrel (Macronectes halli), is similar to the dark morph and the juvenile, with a slightly different bill color, immature Sooty Albatross (Phoebetria fusca), which has a darker bill and immature Wandering Albatross (Diomedea exulans), which has white underwing.

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

Files:

JPG files for Antarctic Giant-Petrel (Macronectes giganteus) - 10 files

MP3 files for Antarctic Giant-Petrel (Macronectes giganteus) - 1 files

More Information

BirdLife International

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BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

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