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Sooty Shearwater
(Ardenna grisea)
: "New Zealand Muttonbird", "Ghost Bird", "King Muttonbird",
"Sombre Shearwater"
Size: 40-51 cm; wing span 0.95-1.1 m
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Similar species |
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Physical description |
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Click here for a physical description
Sooty Shearwaters are medium-sized seabirds with an overall
dark-brown plumage.
The only exception from this homogeneous colour is
that they have grey or greyish-brown underwing coverts.
The legs and feet are grey. The feet
reach slightly beyond the end of the tail.
Their main characteristic is that in flight they can often
be seen with wingtips bowed upwards.
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Taxonomy, classification |
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See Sooty
Shearwater at Wikipedia .
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Range, habitat, finding this species |
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Click here for information on habitat
and range
The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and
specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found,
based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to
ebird.org
.
The global distribution of the Sooty Shearwater is available
HERE
.
Sooty Shearwaters are a global, long-distance migratory pelagic species.
They are at home anywhere on the open seas on both the southern and the
northern hemisphere, EXCEPT the central and
northern Indian Ocean and all enclosed waters, such as the Mediterranean,
the Baltic Sea and waters between the major groups of islands in
South-east Asia (Indonesia, the Philippines, New Guinea).
Their breeding grounds are on the southern hemisphere, on
islands
of the southern Pacific Ocean and the southern Atlantic Ocean.
In Australia, Sooty Shearwaters are present around the South
coast, primarily from about Esperance, WA, in the West to the
NSW/QLD border in the East, but occasionally from the
south-western tip of the continent to about Fraser Island
in the East.
Sooty Shearwaters are found mostly on the open seas, but also in
coastal
waters and, during their breeding season, on
offshore
islands.
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Sightings |
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Click here for sighting information
We have not seen Sooty Shearwaters in Australian waters yet.
P. Brown spotted Sooty Shearwaters off a cruise ship on the
western Pacific Ocean between Bora Bora and Hawaii in April
2019.
All photographic information presented
on this page has kindly been contributed by P. Brown.
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Photos |
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ADULT |
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Near-lateral view onto the upperparts of a Sooty Shearwater in flight
(photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[April 2019]
Lateral view of a Sooty Shearwater in low flight; note the
slender bill and the dark head and trailing edge of the wing
(photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[April 2019]
Lateral/ventral view of a Sooty Shearwater in flight;
note the bowed wing tips, which are typical for the species
(photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[April 2019]
Lateral/ventral view onto the underparts of a Sooty Shearwater in flight
(photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[April 2019]
Near-dorsal view onto the upperparts of a Sooty Shearwater
in flight (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[April 2019]
Near-dorsal view onto the upperparts of a Sooty Shearwater
in flight (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[April 2019]
Near-dorsal/ventral view of a Sooty Shearwater in flight
(photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[April 2019]
Dorsal view of a Sooty Shearwater in flight
(photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[April 2019]
Two Sooty Shearwaters in low flight
almost touching the water with their wing tips
(photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[April 2019]
Dorsal view of two Sooty Shearwaters in low flight
almost touching the water with their wing tips
(photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[April 2019]
Lateral comparison of a Sooty Shearwater with a
Mottled Petrel
in flight
(photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[April 2019]
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Additional information |
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More photos of Sooty Shearwaters are available from
Europe.
These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our
contributors.
The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species
please refer to a field guide.